The South African presidency has confirmed that President Cyril Ramaphosa has met the family of slain South African-born Captain Daniel Perez after government intervention secured the release of his remains from Hamas.
Perez, who was born in South Africa, was taken hostage and killed during the October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel.
Born in Johannesburg, Perez grew up in Glenhazel, where his father served as a community rabbi, before the family moved to Israel in 2014.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said the president expressed his sympathies to the Perez family.
“President Ramaphosa expresses his condolences to the Perez family and affirms South Africa’s support for an all inclusive peace process that will deliver a lasting peace for the people of Israel and Palestine.”
“The South African government remains engaged in assisting all South Africans, irrespective of race or religion, that are ensnared in conflict zones as well as assisting other foreign nationals where such support is requested,” Magwenya said.
Magwenya added that this includes other areas of conflict.
“This includes facilitating the release of South Africans trapped in a war in Syria, citizens that were sold to Russian mercenaries and the safe return of Ukrainian children.“
Meanwhile, AFP reported over the weekend that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected a US-led Gaza plan endorsed by Hamas, putting distance between himself and President Donald Trump as he tries to shore up his base ahead of close elections.
After more than a week of gradually escalating criticism of the plan, and despite receiving assurances that Israel would not need to start withdrawing in Gaza immediately, Netanyahu explicitly opposed the deal following pushback from his right-wing allies.
“Israel rejects the 15-point document,” Netanyahu said, referring to the plan Hamas agreed to in late July.
The Israeli military “will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed, and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens”, he told a cabinet meeting.
Netanyahu described Trump, who had hailed the Gaza deal as a milestone for peace, as “our greatest friend in the White House” – but quickly made clear he was willing to challenge him, saying Israel was raising its objections with the United States.
“They have ideas; some of them are acceptable to us and some are not, and we know how to stand our ground on these matters,” he said.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, is running even or trailing in some polls ahead of October 27 elections, the country’s first since the devastating October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas that sparked the Gaza war.
Polls show that the Gaza plan is unpopular with Netanyahu’s right-wing base, and far-right members of his cabinet have urged him to kill it.
