‘Premeditated genocide': Brazil's Lula slams Israel over Gaza war
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accused Israel of carrying out 'premeditated genocide' in Gaza during a visit to Paris, as it emerged the military had killed at least 52 people in its latest onslaught in the besieged coastal enclave where a crippling blockade is fuelling starvation.
'What is happening in Gaza is not a war. It's a genocide being carried out by a highly prepared army against women and children,' said Lula at a joint news conference in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday.
'[It is] a premeditated genocide from a far-right government that is waging a war, including against the interests of its own people,' he said of Israel's 20-month offensive, which has killed at least 54,607 Palestinians so far, according to the enclave's Health Ministry.
At least 52 people were killed on Thursday, including women and children, according to medical sources, who spoke to Al Jazeera, amid growing concern about deadly incidents at aid distribution sites run by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation since last week.
While Lula has previously used the term 'genocide' to characterise Israel's actions in Gaza, Macron has reserved judgement, saying last month that it was not for a 'political leader to use the term, but up to historians to do so when the time comes'.
The Brazilian leader's condemnation of Israel's offensive came as German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told his visiting Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave in accordance with 'prevailing international law'.
Last week, Wadephul had said Germany was assessing 'whether what is happening in Gaza is in line with international law' and that arms sales to Israel would be evaluated on this basis.
Wadephul also said he was 'concerned about the extremely tense situation in the West Bank', decrying the Israeli government's announcement that it would allow 22 more settlements in the occupied territory, saying it threatened the two-state solution further.
On Thursday, King Abdullah of Jordan praised Spain for recognising Palestine and calling for an end to the war in Gaza during a meeting with King Felipe in Madrid. He said work was underway to gain European support.
Jordan's state news agency Petra cited him as saying work was under way to harness European support for an Arab plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing its residents, as threatened by US President Donald Trump this year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Israeli military kills at least 95 people in Gaza as the body of a Thai hostage is recovered
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel said Saturday it retrieved the body of a Thai hostage abducted into the Gaza Strip during the Hamas-led attack that sparked the war, as Israel's military continued its offensive, killing at least 95 people in the past 24 hours, according to Gaza's health ministry. Nattapong Pinta had come to Israel to work in agriculture. Israel's government said he was seized from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed early in the war, which began on Oct. 7, 2023. Thailand's foreign ministry said the bodies of two other citizens were yet to be retrieved. Thais were the largest group of foreigners held captive. Many lived on the outskirts of southern Israeli kibbutzim and towns, the first places overrun in the attack. Forty-six Thais have been killed during the war, according to the foreign ministry. Israel's defense minister said Pinta's body was retrieved from the Rafah area in southern Gaza. The army said he was seized by the Mujahideen Brigades, the small armed group that also took two Israeli-American hostages, Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai, whose bodies were retrievedon Thursday. Israel's military later said it killed the head of the Mujahideen Brigades, As'ad Aby Sharaiya, in Gaza City on Saturday. Fifty-five hostages remain in Gaza. Israel says more than half are dead. Families rallied again Saturday evening in Israel, calling for a ceasefire deal to bring everyone home. Hamas issued an unusual warning about another hostage, Matan Zangauker, saying Israel's military had surrounded the area where he's held and that any harm that came to him during a rescue attempt would be Israel's responsibility. Israel's military didn't immediately comment. 'The decision to expand the (military) ground maneuver is at the cost of Matan's life and the lives of all the hostages,' Zangauker's mother, Einav, told the rally in Tel Aviv. A strike in Gaza City killed six members of a family, including two children, according to the Shifa and al-Ahli hospitals. Israel's military said the strike targeted the Mujahideen Brigades leader. 'This is the real destruction,' a man said as he carried the body of a small boy from the scene. Four Israeli strikes hit the Muwasi area in southern Gaza between Rafah and Khan Younis. In northern Gaza, a strike hit an apartment, killing seven people including a mother and five children. Their bodies were taken to Shifa hospital. 'Stand up, my love,' one weeping woman said, touching the shrouded bodies. Israel said it was responding to Hamas' 'barbaric attacks' and dismantling its capabilities. It said it takes all feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm. Staff at Nasser hospital, which received the bodies of six people over the past 24 hours, said they were killed while on their way to get food aid. Much of Gaza's population of over 2 million relies on aid after widespread destruction of agriculture as well as a recent Israeli blockade. Experts have warned of famine. Israel's army has warned that the aid distribution area is an active combat zone during nighttime hours. It said several suspects attempted to approach troops operating in the Tel al-Sultan area overnight 'in a manner that posed a threat.' The army said troops called out, then fired warning shots as the suspects advanced. An army official who couldn't be named in line with military procedures said the shots were fired about a half-mile from the distribution site. Over the past two weeks, shootings have occurred frequently near the new hubs where thousands of desperate Palestinians are being directed to collect food. Witnesses say nearby Israeli troops have opened fire, and more than 80 people have been killed, according to Gaza hospital officials. Israel's military has said it fired warning shots or, in some instances, at individuals approaching. The hubs are run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a new group of mainly American contractors. Israel wants it to replace a system coordinated by the United Nations and aid groups. A GHF spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with the group's rules, said it didn't feed Gaza residents on Saturday and blamed Hamas threats. There was no immediate Hamas response. Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid under the U.N.-led system. The U.N. and aid groups deny there's significant diversion of aid to fighters and say the new system — which they have rejected — allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates humanitarian principles and won't be effective. The U.N says it has been unable to distribute much aid under its system because of Israeli military restrictions on movements and insecurity. Separately, Palestinians lined up at a soup kitchen in Gaza City for handouts on the second day of Eid al-Adha. 'I have been standing here for more than an hour and a half. I feel I have a sunstroke, and I am in need,' said Farida al-Sayed, who said she had six people to feed. 'I only had lentils, and I ran out of them.' Hamas-led fighters killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages. Most were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages and recovered dozens of bodies. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Hamas-run Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Germany plans to revamp shelter system in case of Russian attack by 2029: ‘We are concerned about the risk of a major war'
Fearing Russia could attack another European country within the next four years, Germany is planning to expand its network of bomb-proof bunkers and shelters, according to reports. 'For a long time, there was a widespread belief in Germany that war was not a scenario for which we needed to prepare,' Ralph Tiesler, the head of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, said in a recent interview as reported by The Guardian. 'That has changed,' Tiesler said. 'We are concerned about the risk of a major war of aggression in Europe.' Advertisement 4 Germany's civil protection agency chief is warning that the country is not prepared for a Russian attack. Fears are mounting that the Kremlin — following its three-year war in Ukraine — could be capable of attacking a NATO country by 2029, so Germany must 'muster a functioning, comprehensive defense system by then,' Tiesler said. And time is of the essence. Germany cannot rely on building new bunker facilities in time so Tiesler's agency is working on plans to transform tunnels, metro stations, underground garages, car parks and the basements of public buildings into shelters. Advertisement To be presented this summer, they would create shelter for 1 million people, he estimated. The country has about 2,000 bunkers left over from the Cold War but fewer than 600 are in working order and most will require pricey renovations, Tiesler explained. Plus, those would only shelter about 480,000, less than 1% of the German population. 4 Germany's Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance is working on plans to transform metro stations and tunnels into shelters. 4 Germany's existing bunkers are nearly 80 years old and in need of renovations. Advertisement Finland, on the other hand, has 50,000 bunkers that could hold 4.8 million people, or 85% of its population, according to Tiesler's office. The agency leader is urging German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to fund the plans, as well as efforts to revamp apps, road signs and siren systems that would be used if residents need to take shelter. 'We don't want to unnecessarily frighten anyone, but we must nevertheless clearly warn of the danger of a military attack,' Tiesler told news site Zeit Online. 4 Russia's brutal war in Ukraine has caused fears in other European countries. AP Advertisement Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked similar concerns across Europe, motivating some countries to begin defense preparations. Poland, which borders Russia and Ukraine, plans to spend almost 5% of GDP on defense this year, the more than any of its NATO partners, the BBC reported last month.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Reform UK row as party chair calls new MP's burqa ban question ‘dumb'
A row has broken out in Reform UK after its newest MP called on the prime minister to ban the burqa, with the party's chair, Zia Yusuf, saying it was a 'dumb' question given that was not party policy. Sarah Pochin, who recently won the Runcorn and Helsby byelection, asked Keir Starmer in parliament on Wednesday: 'Given the prime minister's desire to strengthen strategic alignment with our European neighbours, will he in the interests of public safety follow the lead of France, Denmark, Belgium and others and ban the burqa?' Her call was met with cries of 'shame' from some MPs, and Reform later clarified it was not the party's policy but that it could be part of a debate. Nigel Farage, the party leader, also weighed in later on GB News, saying: 'I don't think face coverings in public places make sense, and we deserve a debate about this.' However, Yusuf responded to the idea on X on Thursday suggesting the question should not have been asked. 'Nothing to do with me. Had no idea about the question nor that it wasn't policy. Busy with other stuff. I do think it's dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn't do,' he wrote. A Reform spokesperson said Yusuf had not been criticising Pochin personally as he had said it was a 'dumb' thing for a party to do, and that all parties contained people who took different positions on policy matters. However, it is the latest sign of disharmony in Reform, months after Rupert Lowe, one of the party's MPs, was booted out after a disagreement with Yusuf and Farage. Lowe, who now sits as an independent, takes a more sympathetic approach to the far-right agitator Tommy Robinson and has a hardline view advocating mass deportation of people who have migrated to the UK illegally. On Thursday, Lowe backed a burqa ban, saying: 'The burqa is a political symbol: it represents a deeply patriarchal and unpleasant worldview that has no place in our society. We must defend the freedom of girls and women born into a culture where that suffocation isn't a choice, but a rule. Let's ban the burqa.' The idea was also endorsed by Nick Timothy, a Tory MP and former chief of staff to Theresa May, who said on X: 'The burqa is as British as Jeddah and yes it should be banned.'
