The decision is a difficult and complex process of weighing up competing safety considerations.
Israeli forces say they were met with heavy resistance from Hamas when they pounded multiple sites across the Gaza Strip.
While criticising the Israeli defence force and Hamas, President Jacob Zuma says the ANC will go "back to basics" through its Imvuselelo campaign.
Mass casualties have been reported in the Shejaia district in north-east Gaza after an Israeli air strike.
Israel’s use of disproportionate force to cause civilian terror in Gaza contravenes the laws governing armed conflict, writes Raji Sourani.
The latest outburst of aggression in the intractable conflict between Israel and Palestine inflames emotions everywhere.
Israel has resumed air strikes on Gaza following Hamas’s rejection of an Egyptian-proposed Gaza ceasefire.
SABC reports say the international relations minister will call Arthur Lenk to explain Israel’s bombing of the Gaza strip.
Hordes of Gazans have fled their homes following Israel warning that it would "strike with might" against what it says are rocket-launching sites.
The United Nations Security Council has called for a ceasefire in hostilities as Western ministers make plans to discuss the conflict at Iran talks.
Both Israeli and Hamas forces have ruled out an end to hostilities as the death toll from fighting in Gaza climbs to more than 100.
Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip killed 20 people on the third day of a military operation, including four women and four children.
Brutalised civilians recall the horrific toll of the last Israeli invasion and fear it will happen again.
Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system is designed to intercept rockets fired by Hamas from up to 69km away in Gaza.
An Israeli operation against Gaza militants has killed 28 people and wounded more than 150 in the deadliest day of violence since 2012.
Following the death of Ariel Sharon, Isreal has increased its security for the former prime minister’s funeral near the Gaza border.
A group of South Africans stranded in the Gaza Strip has been allowed safe passage into Cairo following an intervention by Dirco officials.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from flood-damaged homes in Gaza in what the UN has called "a disaster area", officials said on Saturday.
Dervla Murphy spent a month in Gaza once it was possible to get in via Egypt after the fall of Hosni Mubarak, and has brough out a book.
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The cubs – one male, one female – are the offspring of lions smuggled into Gaza through tunnels from Egypt four years ago.
Egypt’s campaign to shut down smuggling tunnels running under its border into the Gaza Strip threatens to throw thousands of Palestinians out of work.
South Africa must use its influence to take down the ineffective quartet and reach a two-state solution, writes Bongie Mcakuvana.
The Nkandla fire rages on, the battle in the Gaza Strip flares up and the new Bond film is set to hit cinemas with a bang. Stay in the know, watch Weekend 101.
The support of the US and Britain allows Israel to continue its policy of occupation and aggression, says Seumas Milne.
Hamas’s charter includes the aspiration that "the day of judgment will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews [killing the Jews]".
Although Hamas leadership is in hiding, Israel’s missiles have failed to obliterate its authority, writes Chris McGreal in Beit Lahiya.
Egypt has announced that a ceasefire had been reached to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, starting later in the day.
The force used by Israel in its attacks on Hamas militants in Gaza is "disproportionate", the department of international relations said.
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/ 20 November 2012
The UN chief has called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the US Secretary of State has headed to the region with a peace message.
The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza during Israel’s on-going offensive reached 100 on Monday, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.
There are theories among Israelis and Palestinians about what has propelled the two sides towards their second war in four years.
Israeli air strikes killed 31 Palestinians in the bloodiest day so far in the Gaza Strip, as diplomatic efforts to broker a truce intensified.