By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“What Israel is doing is not a war, it’s genocide because they are killing women and children.”

Brazil has recalled its ambassador to Israel, following months of tension between the two countries over the ongoing genocidal war in Gaza that has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva angered the Israeli government in February when he accused Tel Aviv of committing “genocide” in the besieged enclave.

‘Not a War, It’s Genocide’ – Brazilian President Lula on Israeli Onslaught on Gaza

“What Israel is doing is not a war, it’s genocide because they are killing women and children,” Lula said at the time. “This is genocide. Thousands of dead children, thousands missing. It’s not soldiers who are dying, but women and children in hospitals. If this is not genocide, I don’t know what genocide is.”

Public reprimand

His statements led to Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz summoning the Brazilian ambassador, Frederico Meyer, to the Holocaust Museum in West Jerusalem for a public reprimand.

Meyer was then recalled for consultations with his government. According to an Associated Press report, the latest action represented a diplomatic downgrade, with the ambassador being transferred to Geneva where he will join Brazil’s permanent mission to the UN.

For Lula’s Victory to Matter: A Proposal for a Unified Palestinian Foreign Policy

Lula has been, throughout the years, supportive of Palestine.

In 2010, as a president, he spoke of his dream of seeing “an independent and free Palestine” during a visit to the occupied West Bank.

Although he condemned Hamas’ military operation on October 7, he has vocally criticized Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Over 36,000 Killed

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 36,171 Palestinians have been killed, and 81,420 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

Six Massacres in 24 Hours – Israel’s Genocide in Gaza Continues

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

(The Palestine Chronicle)