Brazil slams 'endless massacre' in Gaza after Israeli bombings

Brazil slams 'endless massacre' in Gaza after Israeli bombings
The Brazilian government urged the world not to 'remain silent in the face of this endless massacre'.
2 min read
An Israeli strike on the so-called Al-Mawasi 'safe zone' killed at least 92 people, according to the Gaza health ministry [KHAMES ALREFI/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty]

The government of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday denounced Israeli strikes on southern Gaza, urging the world not to "remain silent in the face of this endless massacre".

"The most recent bombing in the Gaza Strip, which claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent people, is unacceptable," read a statement from the presidency.

The health ministry in the Gaza Strip said at least 92 people were killed and 300 wounded in a Saturday strike on Al-Mawasi, an Israeli-designated "safe zone" on the Mediterranean coast.

The Civil Defence agency said another 20 were killed in an Israeli strike on a makeshift mosque at Al-Shati refugee camp in the territory's north.

On Sunday, 15 were killed in a Gaza school sheltering those displaced by the war, according to the Civil Defence agency.

"It is appalling that they continue to collectively punish the Palestinian people. Tens of thousands have already died in successive attacks since last year, many of them in delimited humanitarian zones that should be protected," said the statement.

"We, the political leaders of the democratic world, cannot remain silent in the face of this endless massacre."

Hamas on Sunday decided to withdraw from Gaza ceasefire negotiations in the wake of the bombings.

Brazil in May withdrew its ambassador from Israel, ratcheting up tensions after he earlier accused the country's government of genocide.

Israel reacted furiously, declaring the Brazilian leader persona non grata.

Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 38,584 people, according to the Palestinian enclave's health ministry.

A Hamas-led 7 October attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Some 250 captives were taken, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, including 42 the army says are dead.