THE South African President Cyril Ramaphosa accused Israel today of “war crimes” and “genocide” in Gaza in a speech opening the proceedings of an extraordinary online meeting of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) group, convened to discuss the situation in Gaza and the Middle East.

“The collective punishment of Palestinian civilians through the unlawful use of force by Israel is a war crime,” Ramaphosa stressed. “The deliberate denial of medicine, fuel, food and water to the people of Gaza is tantamount to genocide,” he added.

“We urge the international community to agree on urgent and concrete actions to end the calamity in Gaza and pave the way for a just and peaceful resolution of this conflict,” he stressed, citing a list of those proposed actions.

In addition to an “immediate and complete” ceasefire, the South African president called for the deployment of a rapid United Nations force, “mandated to oversee the cessation of hostilities and the protection of civilians.”

Pretoria announced yesterday this extraordinary meeting of this group of countries, in which Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak, among others.

The leaders of the six new BRICS member countries (Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates), due to join the group in January, are expected to address this summit, Pretoria said yesterday.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will also attend the meeting, after which the leaders are “expected to adopt a joint communiqué on the situation in the Middle East, particularly in Gaza,” according to the South African statement.