Model and media personality Shashi Naidoo fears for her life and has hired personal security to monitor her home in the wake of major outrage surrounding comments about the unrest between Israel and Palestine over the weekend.

During a debate with a follower on Instagram‚ Shashi labelled Gaza a 'sh*thole' and seemed to be pro-Israeli. The comments went viral over the weekend and saw Shashi receive major backlash.

Speaking to TshisaLIVE the star claimed to have received several death threats in response to her comments.

"I think what people are seeing on my main page is one thing and what is going on in my DMs is another thing. I have been getting death threats and wishes that I get attacked. They have been sending me my address and saying they know where I live and mustn't sleep at night. I take full accountability for my comment but have security now at my home."

She said she would not take any action against the threats but instead apologised for the offence her comments have caused.

"I am deeply sorry. I have hurt people and people need to now express how they feel without me responding."

Shashi explained that she got into a debate over the long-standing Middle Eastern conflict after wanting to defend her friend Black Coffee‚ who was earlier this year criticised for performing in Israel‚ but made a mistake by asking another close friend to formulate a response for her.

"Me‚ not knowing enough‚ asked a friend who I thought knew the other side to draft up something I could send back to show there was more sides to a story. I barely looked at it and did not read it properly. I was not thinking. It is out of character but it is no excuse. I take full accountability for my actions. I must take the repercussions."

Shashi also apologised for the incident in a statement on social media‚ explaining that she tried to be smart in the debate but ended up making a mess of it.

The star was labelled an "Apartheid sympathiser" for her original comments‚ and was dropped as an ambassador of Glampalm Africa and by a jewelry designer named Adila Dhorat.

She said she was upset that people would think of her as an "apartheid sympathiser".

"My heart is broken if people think that I condone what is happening. That is not me. I think ignorance is just as bad and I have been living in a bubble. I have had to learn very quickly."

The outcry comes only months after radio host Gareth Cliff was criticised for labelling Palestinians as "invaders" during a segment on his radio station‚ CliffCentral‚ after at least 60 Palestinians had been shot dead and thousands were injured after the Israeli defence force fired live ammunition on the Gaza border during a protest in May.