South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has accused Israel of “war crimes and genocide” in Gaza, as he chaired an extraordinary summit of the BRICS group of nations, AFP reports.

Pretoria is hosting a virtual meeting of BRICS — a group of major emerging economies that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — aimed at drawing up a common response to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“The collective punishment of Palestinian civilians through the unlawful use of force by Israel is a war crime. The deliberate denial of medicine, fuel, food and water to the residents of Gaza is tantamount to genocide,” Ramaphosa said.