People hold a silent protest against mass starvation and genocide in Gaza, in Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa, Aug. 2, 2025. (Photo by Shakirah Thebus/Xinhua)

A group of women under the banner of Mothers4Gaza held a silent protest on Saturday in Cape Town, South Africa's legislative capital, to denounce what they described as state-sanctioned starvation and genocide in Gaza.

With their mouths taped shut, the women stood in Sea Point holding placards that collectively spelled out "STOP GENOCIDE." Some held graphic images of emaciated children and adults, reportedly starved due to the Israeli blockade on food and humanitarian aid.

Organizers said the demonstration aimed to draw attention to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and express solidarity with Palestinian mothers and children. The protest, they added, represented those who refuse to normalize mass starvation and ethnic cleansing.

The demonstration followed several consecutive days of protests at symbolic locations, including the Cape Town Holocaust and Genocide Centre, the British Consulate General, and the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates.

On the same day, another protest took place outside Cape Union Mart, a South African retail chain reportedly linked to Israel.

Irene Knight, a Mothers4Gaza member, said they wanted to stand in solidarity with the mothers and children in Palestine. "There's been so much devastation in Palestine. There have been bombings and starvation -- all brought about by the Israeli regime," said Knight. "But there doesn't seem to be an urgency in the world to stop it, and we came here to protest that."

Knight urged Western governments to halt funding and arming Israel. "Governments and institutions that have remained silent and complicit need to act. This genocide must end. Israel must be stopped from annihilating Palestine," she said.

Greer Blizzard, another Mothers4Gaza member, drew parallels between the situation in Gaza and South Africa's own history, saying that Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have endured decades of systemic apartheid, and it is time for the world to bring it to an end.

Gaza-based health authorities said earlier that a total of 154 people, including 89 children, have died from starvation and malnutrition.

The United Nations Children's Fund reported that nearly all of Gaza's 1.2 million children are in need of mental health and psychosocial support, suffering from depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation.