JOHANNESBURG

South Africa on Thursday condemned the targeted assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran on Wednesday.

The group's political bureau chief was in the Iranian capital to attend the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Pretoria said it is concerned that the killing of Haniyeh and the continuous targeting of civilians in Gaza will further spiral the already tense situation in the entire region.

“South Africa urges that a thorough investigation be conducted and calls on all parties to exercise the utmost restraint to avoid any acts that would escalate tensions in the particularly fragile region,’’ the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Such acts of extrajudicial killings violate international law and the principles of human rights, undermining global efforts to promote peace and stability in the Middle East," said Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola.

Lamola said no country is above the law and all nations must respect international law, particularly the principles outlined in the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“Any form of extrajudicial killing is a blatant violation of these principles and extra judicial killings of this nature have a destabilizing effect. It is crucial that the perpetrators of such actions must be brought to justice,” the top South African diplomat said.

Lamola said Haniyeh’s assassination occurred in the context of the nine-month onslaught in Gaza, where the ongoing bombardment has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and turned most of the territory into ruins.

He said Haniyeh was an integral member of the negotiating team, working with mediators to secure a comprehensive and permanent cease-fire and bring the war to Gaza to an end.

He said Israeli’s continued occupation, destruction of infrastructure, collective punishment, and extrajudicial assassinations would make the realization of a peaceful solution in the Middle East much more difficult to achieve.

Pretoria reiterated its view that the international community must act immediately to end the conflict that continues since the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion.