Pretoria, South Africa – Yesterday, Keith and Aviva Siegel, alongside the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF), led a powerful “Bring the Hostages Home” Solidarity Bus Ride to the Pretoria offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), joined by civil society, faith leaders, and political representatives.
A bus filled with protesters travelled with Aviva Siegel, a South African-born survivor of Hamas captivity, and her husband Keith, who was held hostage for over a year, to deliver a clear message: the world cannot stand by while 50 innocent people remain in Gaza’s tunnels, deprived of their most basic humanitarian rights.
Aviva and Keith’s testimony gave the protest its moral force. Both were abducted from their home in Israel on 7 October 2023. Aviva endured 51 days in Hamas captivity, while Keith was held for an unimaginable 484 days underground. Their voices today carried the pain of those still suffering.
The SAZF and its partners formally handed over a memorandum to the ICRC demanding that it fulfil its mandate under the Geneva Conventions – to secure access to the hostages, to verify their conditions, to provide urgent medical assistance, to restore family contact, and to insist on humane treatment. While the ICRC received the delegation and engaged in discussion, the harsh truth remains:
Today marks 683 days since the hostages were abducted, and the ICRC has failed to fulfil its mandate. Zero hostages have been assisted, seen, or given medical care.
Political leaders and civil society figures stood alongside the Siegel family in delivering this call. Norman Fana Mkhonza, representing Reverend Kenneth Meshoe and the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), declared: “We are here at the Red Cross offices in Tshwane to demand that the Red Cross facilitate the unconditional release of the 50 hostages. They’ve been there for over 682 days of hell. Hamas must unconditionally release their hostages for there to be peace.”
Theo Doyle of the Patriotic Alliance reinforced this demand: “We make an appeal to each and every one, not only in South Africa but around the world, to stand with the families affected. God bless you and may the hostages be released immediately.”
From the Democratic Alliance, Daniel Schay stressed South Africa’s responsibility: “This is so important in South Africa, a country where we unfortunately have a good relationship with Hamas. We really should be doing more, speaking to Hamas directly, saying: enough is enough, the hostages need to come home now.”
The SAZF reiterates and strongly endorses these sentiments.
Klaas Mokgomole of Africans for Peace added: “We are here to send a message and ask the Red Cross International to save our 50 hostages who have been suffering in Gaza for 682 days. We need them back home now.”
Speaking on behalf of the SAZF, National Chairman Craig Pantanowitz concluded: “This is about human lives. Innocent people were stolen from their families and are being kept in unimaginable conditions. Aviva knows their suffering because she has lived it. Today, South Africans stood with her to say: the world must not forget, and action must be taken now.”
The SAZF further calls on the African National Congress (ANC), which has openly stood in solidarity with Hamas and fostered political connections with its leadership, to use its influence to communicate directly and to facilitate the unconditional release of all hostages. Words of sympathy are no longer enough. Action is required.
For 683 days, silence and inaction have enabled this crime. The hostages cannot wait another day.
