Ramaphosa reiterates call for immediate ceasefire

SA President Cyril Ramaphosa says his worst fears that the conflict in the Middle East will spill over to other regions have been realised. This after Iran launched unprecedented strikes on Israel on Saturday. ‘We did warn at a very early stage that unless the challenges and the war between Israel and Palestine in Gaza is handled with care and with great wisdom to ensure that there is a ceasefire and humanitarian assistance, the war would soon escalate beyond the borders of Israel, and it would engulf countries in the Middle East,’ Ramaphosa said. Speaking at an election campaign, he called for a de-escalation of the conflict, notes a News24 report. Ramaphosa said ‘we should not be having a regional conflict when we know what the origins of this conflict are’. In November, in his capacity as the Brazil, Russia, India, China, and SA bloc of nations' chairperson, Ramaphosa convened an extraordinary joint meeting on the situation in Gaza and other Palestinian-occupied territories as well as its spillover effects. During that meeting, the group of countries called for an immediate and sustained humanitarian truce, which could lead to a cessation of hostilities in the situation in the Middle East. The meeting took place shortly after the Brics Summit in SA

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