Brazilian president likens the situation in Gaza to the Holocaust

Israel yesterday criticised Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for comparing the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip to the Holocaust, with Tel Aviv announcing that it would summon the South American country’s envoy to protest today, Anadolu news agency reported.In a statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called da Silva’s statements “shameful” and “serious”.

“No one will harm Israel’s right to defend itself. I have ordered the people of my office to summon the Brazilian ambassador for a reprimand call tomorrow,” he added on X.

Earlier in the day, da Silva accused Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip, citing the ongoing military offensive that has killed nearly 29,000 Palestinians since 7 October.

“What’s happening in the Gaza Strip isn’t a war, it’s a genocide,” Lula told reporters in Addis Ababa, where he was attending an African Union (AU) summit.

“It’s not a war of soldiers against soldiers. It’s a war between a highly prepared army and women and children,” he added.

“What’s happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people hasn’t happened at any other moment in history. Actually, it has happened: when Hitler decided to kill the Jews,” he remarked.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Brazilian president “crossed a red line.”

“The words of the president of Brazil are shameful and alarming,” he said in a post on X. “This is about trivialising the Holocaust and trying to harm the Jewish people and Israel’s right to defend itself.”

The Israeli premier argued that Tel Aviv fights for its future “while upholding international law.”

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since 7 October killing 29,000 Palestinians and injuring almost 70,000 others. The bombing campaign has forced 85 per cent of Gaza’s population out of their homes, pushing the vast majority to the southernmost city of Rafah, which it now plans to bomb.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has called on Tel Aviv to ensure it is not committing genocide in Gaza, allow vital aid into the Strip and to stop its officials’ genocidal rhetoric, however to date, Israel’s bombing campaign has not ceased and it’s senior officials and ministers have increased calls to resettle Gaza.

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