Two South African women are among the more than 200 hostages seized by Hamas during the pogrom unleashed by its terrorists in southern Israel on Oct. 7,
The Algemeiner can reveal.
The two women — aged 62 and 79, both of them Jewish — were abducted from two separate kibbutzim.
The 62-year-old was seized in the attack on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Lying on the border with the Gaza Strip, the kibbutz was home to 400 residents prior to the Hamas massacre, in which up to 100 of them were murdered, including several children. The 79-year-old was taken during the attack on nearby Kibbutz Nirim, where Hamas terrorists fired indiscriminately at residents while setting homes alight.
The names of the two South African women have not been released at the request of their families.
Pro-Israel advocates in South Africa on Thursday slammed the South African government for its silence on the two hostages. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has been vociferous in its support of the Palestinians, with President Cyril Ramaphosa comparing Hamas’ war on Israel with his own country’s struggle against apartheid during an address to a summit meeting in Cairo last weekend.
In a statement, Bafana Modise — national spokesperson for South African Friends of Israel — noted that South African Foreign Minister
Naledi Pandorhad “called the Hamas terrorist organization, immediately after their unspeakable atrocities and hostage taking, to express her solidarity and support.” Pandor’s interlocutor was Ismail Haniyeh, the political chief of Hamas who is based in Qatar. According to South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), the purpose of the call was to discuss “how to get the necessary humanitarian aid to Gaza and other parts of the Palestinian Territories.”
“If Minister Pandor and [DIRCO] are truly interested in peace, they should now step in speedily and play an active role in securing the release of the South African hostages, alongside all the others,” Modise emphasized. “Pandor appears to have a direct line to Hamas, and instead of offering support and solidarity, should be prioritizing the urgent release of those held against their will in Gaza.”
(full article online)
Two South African women are among the more than 200 hostages seized by Hamas during the pogrom unleashed by its terrorists in southern Israel on Oct. 7, The Algemeiner can reveal. The two women — aged 62 and 79, both of them Jewish — were abducted from two separate kibbutzim. The 62-year-old was...
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