The nations of Chad and South Africa said Monday that they were pulling diplomats out of Israel amid the African nations’ calls for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war.

Both African nations announced that the reason for the withdrawal of their diplomats was for “consultation” in response to the war being waged in Gaza. 

“The South African government has decided to withdraw all of its diplomats in Tel Aviv for consultation,” minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said on Monday. That decision grew out of a cabinet meeting on this past Wednesday. 

She added that the role of the Israeli ambassador to South Africa was becoming “untenable” amid a battle of words. Ntshavheni has accused the Israeli government of “genocide,” to which she says the Israeli ambassador has responded with “disparaging remarks.”  

The South African government told CNN that three of its diplomats will be recalled from Israel.

The move comes as pro-Palestinian protesters have been staging demonstrations near the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg and the Israeli embassies in Pretoria and Cape Town.

Chad, meanwhile, has recalled its country’s chargé d’affaires to Israel over the weekend, with the Chadian office of the Presidency saying online that the move was undertaken in “indignation” to the ongoing war. 

“Chad condemns the loss of human lives of many innocent civilians and calls for a ceasefire leading to a lasting solution to the Palestinian question,” the government spokesperson’s statement said.

There has been no immediate comment from the Israeli foreign ministry.

PHOTO: Pro-Palestinian protest in South Africa, per VOA

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