PRETORIA, November 21. /TASS/. Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip are violating the international law, including the UN Charter, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday.

"The actions by Israel are in clear violation of international law, including the UN Charter and the Geneva Convention read together with its protocols," Ramaphosa said addressing an extraordinary summit of the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) on the situation in the Middle East.

The president of South Africa noted that "Over 11,000 residents of Gaza have been killed."

"Many thousands more have been injured. Infrastructure, homes, hospitals and other public facilities have been destroyed. More than half of Gaza’s population has been displaced," he added.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7 after militants from the Palestinian group Hamas launched an incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza and launched ground operations in the enclave, also carrying out air strikes on targets in the Strip, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.