Today marks Nakba Day (15 May), a sombre anniversary for Palestinians, commemorating 77 years since the mass displacement of 1948. This year’s observance comes amid severe devastation in Gaza, where families remain under relentless bombardment, cut off from humanitarian aid, and struggling to survive.
Gaza’s health authorities reported that over 70 Palestinians were killed on Wednesday (14 May) in intensified Israeli airstrikes. The Health Ministry noted that some victims remain trapped under rubble, inaccessible to emergency responders due to ongoing attacks.
In Cape Town, civil society organisations have called on local government to show solidarity by illuminating the Cape Town City Hall in the colours of the Palestinian flag—echoing gestures previously made in support of other global causes.
Speaking to VOC News, Professor Usuf Chikte of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) stated:
“Today marks the 77th year of the Nakba, the catastrophe, the apartheid, the genocide, the dispossession, the forced fleeing of more than 750,000 Palestinians. Because of the renewed genocide, we are calling on the Western Cape government and the City of Cape Town to stand up and show solidarity by lighting up City Hall and the provincial legislature.”
Chikte added that over 55,000 people died in Gaza in October 2023, many of whom are now facing death by starvation due to the ongoing blockade of food and aid supplies.
“The same way they lit up buildings for Ukraine, where over 1,000 people died, why not for Palestine? Show some empathy, have it in your hearts to support the people of Palestine, as most Capetonians and people in the Western Cape already do.”
VOC News reached out to the Mayor’s Office for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication.
VOC News
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