Brazil: President Lula addresses Gaza destruction in G20 event

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told the Urban Cities (U20) Summit held on Sunday evening on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro that Israel’s aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip has destroyed two-thirds of Palestinian land in the enclave.

“The Gaza Strip, one of humanity’s oldest urban settlements [4000 BC], has had two-thirds of its territory destroyed by indiscriminate bombing,” said Lula. “Eighty per cent of its health facilities no longer exist. Under its rubble lie over 40,000 lives lost.”

Thousands have flocked to the Copacabana area of Rio’s city centre, despite heavy rain, to protest against the genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people. More than 300 Brazilian popular and trade union organisations have taken part in a massive march, with participants urging Lula to “cut ties with Israel over genocide.”

The march was part of a series of popular events coinciding with the G20 summit, which brings together leaders of the group’s nineteen member-states, in addition to representatives of the European Union and the African Union.

READ: Massive Palestinian flag unfurled on Brazil’s Copacabana Beach