A week since the ceasefire in Gaza came into effect, tens of thousands of Palestinians are returning to the flattened rubble of the places they once called home. As they return, there is worry among prominent voices in South Africa – one of Palestine’s fiercest supporters – that the agreement may not lead to a meaningful and permanent peace.

It was just months into the war on Gaza in 2023, when South Africa made history by becoming the first country to take Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on charges of genocide. That move reflected the hopes of thousands of Palestine supporters in South Africa and across the continent, as two million people suffered under bombardment in Gaza.

Last week, after more than two years of war, which killed at least 67,967 Palestinians, relief spread in Gaza and around the world as United States President Donald Trump’s peace plan was agreed to by Israel and Hamas. But in South Africa, the government and its supporters have promised to continue pressuring Israel for accountability over crimes inflicted on Palestinians.

There is a need to scrutinise the US’s peace plan, Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s former foreign minister under whom the ICJ case was filed in December 2023, told Al Jazeera, as it is important to make sure Israel answers in court for the Gaza war, and several other violations.

“The ceasefire is a welcome step because, of course, we want to end the killing,” Pandor said. “But I’m concerned because the struggle of the people of Palestine is about much more than the war that has been