SAFI demands government condemns Hamas

South African Friends of Israel (SAFI) is demanding that the government and the African National Congress (ANC) publicly condemn Hamas after a senior United Nations (UN) official accused its “armed personnel” of obstructing humanitarian aid in Gaza. 

Dr Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, has made it clear that the terrorist organisation, which he calls the “de facto authorities” in Gaza, has interfered with and prevented humanitarian operations during the war. 

SAFI, a Christian organisation that supports Israel and Jews, says Alakbarov’s statement supports what Israel and its supporters have been explaining since the start of the war. 

SAFI called on the ANC and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) to apply the same standards to Hamas that they have applied to Israel. 

The exchange comes amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Since Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel triggered the war, aid organisations have warned of severe shortages of food, medicine, fuel, and other essentials. 

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of diverting aid and interfering with its distribution. Hamas has denied those allegations. Humanitarian organisations have criticised Israeli military operations, restrictions, and insecurity for limiting the flow of assistance. 

In his statement, issued on 12 July, Alakbarov doesn’t name Hamas but says “armed personnel affiliated with Gaza’s de facto authorities” ‒ Hamas has governed Gaza since 2007 ‒ forced humanitarian workers to suspend food distribution at the Abu Rashid distribution point in Jabalia in northern Gaza. 

He said the armed men also entered a World Food Programme warehouse and reportedly assaulted two truck drivers delivering humanitarian supplies. “These incidents are not isolated,” Alakbarov said. “They are completely unacceptable and reflect an increasingly dangerous pattern of intimidation, violence, and obstruction.” 

He said humanitarian workers were being placed at risk and that the delivery of life-saving assistance was being disrupted while civilians continued to face severe conditions. Alakbarov also said the expansion of areas under Israeli control was further reducing the space available to civilians. 

He called on all parties to comply with international humanitarian law by protecting humanitarian personnel, facilities, and relief supplies, while allowing impartial aid to reach civilians safely and without obstruction. 

Speaking to the SA Jewish Report, SAFI national spokesperson Bafana Modise said the UN statement represents an important acknowledgement of concerns his organisation had raised repeatedly. “I think the intention was to amplify the same message and expose the hypocrisy that we have seen over the years. 

“We have been saying that we don’t hate Palestinians. We are against the regime that is killing Gazans and killing Israelis. Now the very people who claimed to speak for the people of Gaza are the ones who are harming them.” 

Modise said South Africa should respond consistently to violations of international humanitarian law, regardless of who is responsible. “We have called upon the ANC to take the same principled decision in the interests of the people of Gaza, to denounce Hamas, and call for humanitarian aid to reach the people,” he said. 

Craig Pantanowitz, national chairperson of the South African Zionist Federation, said the UN statement reflected concerns that Israel had expressed throughout the war. “The evidence was always there. The problem wasn’t a lack of evidence. It was a lack of willingness to acknowledge it.” 

Pantanowitz said Israel had long argued that Hamas was stealing aid, intimidating humanitarian workers, and using humanitarian assistance for its own purposes. 

“The question is not why the UN is saying this now, but why it took so long,” he said. “Every day that Hamas’s role was ignored came at the expense of the very civilians humanitarian aid is meant to protect.” He said the UN would need to apply “the same scrutiny and moral standard to Hamas that it has long applied to Israel” if it wanted to restore its credibility. 

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, said the statement was “an important and overdue admission by the UN”. He told the SA Jewish Report, “Hamas is not only terrorising Israelis. It is also terrorising Palestinians and the humanitarian workers delivering aid.” 

However, Neuer argued that the UN should have identified Hamas directly rather than referring to “de facto authorities”. 

“The perpetrators have a name: Hamas. The UN has to stop cowering before them. If the UN expects accountability, it must begin by identifying those responsible.” 

Benji Shulman, director of public policy at the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, said, “Large parts of the United Nations system still remain compromised when it comes to the delivery of foreign aid, not just in the case of the Gaza Strip, but in many other conflicts around the world.” 

He described the statement as “an important first step” towards recognising some of the obstacles affecting aid distribution in Gaza. Shulman said greater accountability was needed to ensure assistance reached civilians rather than being diverted for military purposes or used to strengthen Hamas’s control over the local population. 

The latest developments come after months of international debate over the causes of Gaza’s worsening humanitarian crisis. Israel has maintained that Hamas diverts aid and embeds itself within civilian infrastructure, while humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned that ongoing fighting, damaged infrastructure, insecurity, and restrictions on access have all limited the delivery of assistance. 

Alakbarov’s statement reflected both concerns. 

He concluded by calling for humanitarian organisations to be allowed to operate “safely, independently, impartially, and without fear of intimidation or violence”, saying Gazan civilians had already endured immense suffering and could not face further delays in receiving life-saving assistance.