The following statement was submitted for discussion to the Stellenbosch University Senate. We are awaiting a special meeting of the Senate to further debate the matter. The signatories below have signed in their individual capacity as members of the Stellenbosch University Senate.

We note that the University of Cape Town and the University of Western Cape have made official statements calling for a ceasefire and immediate aid to Gaza.

We, a collection of individual members of the Stellenbosch University Senate, note with deep concern the ongoing massacre and continued mass displacement of the population of Gaza by the Israeli military since 7 October.

We are appalled by the mass killing of innocent civilians and are dismayed that the Israeli military has targeted non-combatants in Gaza -- men, women and children -- in their retaliation against Hamas.

We note and mourn the deaths of Israeli civilians in the 7 October attacks on Israel by Hamas. However, no crimes inflicted on Israeli civilians nor any military action taken by Israel, whether in self-defence or in pursuit of its military objectives, can ever justify genocidal actions in retaliation.

This level of destruction is brutal and barbaric. The extreme trauma of the surviving population continues to worsen as they bury their dead and fear for their lives. The universities in Gaza have been destroyed, some of which were destroyed after their capture by the Israeli military. They are being used as detention centres or military bases....