International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor's call with a Hamas leader has received an endorsement from African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.

He said there was nothing untoward about it, adding Pandor was "advancing peace and diplomacy". 

Mbalula pushed back on criticism Pandor and her department faced after News24 reported on Tuesday a conversation that was held between the minister and Palestinian military group. 

On Wednesday at a press briefing at the ANC's headquarters in Johannesburg, Mbalula said the backlash over the call was uncalled for and unrealistic. 

He added anyone who wanted to transport aid to Gaza had to engage with Hamas and barring anyone from speaking to the group was unrealistic.

"Naledi Pandor did nothing wrong. She's doing her job. If we want to send things now to Gaza, who are you going to talk to? You must talk to Hamas. And then she's been insulted left and right as if she did something wrong. There is nothing wrong that she did; she's doing her job. That is what diplomats do, what ministers do. As we sleep under the dark day and night, people are pursuing peaceful means, and they do not call press conferences, and they meet even with difficult people. Hands off our minister; she has a right to talk to anybody to do her job as long as she does not compromise this country's foreign policy. She is advancing peace, and that is what she is doing, and she can talk to Israelis as well," Mbalula said. 

He likened the diplomacy regarding the fighting between Hamas and Israel to the situation in Iraq ahead of the US invasion of that country. 

Mbalula said the crux of geopolitics demanded that countries speak to "even the most difficult people".

News24 reported Western and Middle Eastern diplomats were shocked Pandor had spoken to senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. 

The ongoing tensions in the Middle East have led to heightened animosity regarding countries' actions and their stance on Israel or Palestine. 

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation condemned the violence that broke on 7 October when Hamas fighters killed hundreds of Israeli citizens in an invasion of the country.

Close to 200 Israeli citizens were also kidnapped. 

The aftermath of that day has seen thousands of people killed in Palestine because of retaliation attacks by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). 

The IDF has continued to fire missiles into Gaza. 

The ANC has condemned the deaths of Israeli citizens, but the party ramped up its already clear political support for Palestine.

Mbalula repeated these calls, aiming straight at what he viewed as hypocrisy because Hamas was seen as guilty of a criminal investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) while Israel was not being held equally accountable. 

He likened the unfair geopolitical dynamics in the Middle East to the Ukraine-Russia war, blaming the West's condemnation of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who could not attend a Brics summit in Johannesburg because of an ICC arrest warrant. 

"We are calling for an investigation into these acts of terror by Israel. Penalties must be imposed on anyone.

"There is a penalty imposed on the Russian president because of what is happening in Ukraine. We must stop this hypocrisy. Putin could not even come to our country because the ICC had imposed a sentence that he must be arrested," Mbalula said.

He also criticised US President Joe Biden who is expected to arrive in Israel on Wednesday. 

The US has pledged support Israel's planned incursion into Gaza. 

The US has pledged to supply ammunition to Israel, which Mbalula said was counterproductive to peace efforts.

"What is happening against the Palestinian people is evil, and the ANC will be in the trenches and on the side of the Palestinian people. They are stateless, and people are dying every day, and we are saying, let's have a two-state solution. We condemn the killing of Israeli citizens. Joe Biden and other US presidents have said they support the state of Israel. For America, every solution to a problem is arms.

"That is the Americans' answer to everything. There is a problem in the Middle East, and their answer is, we will give you arms," Mbalula said. 

"Where does the notion of peace come in for a superpower like America? At some point, we must try and negotiate peace."