Brazilian President Lula welcomes dozens of Lebanon evacuees

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva received the first group of evacuees from Lebanon over the weekend and strongly criticised Israel's invasion of Lebanon.

Lula welcomed 229 Brazilian nationals who were repatriated from Lebanon on Sunday, promising to bring to the country all Brazilians and their relatives who wish to come.

Videos circulated online showing Lula embracing the evacuees as they disembarked the aircraft at the Guarulhos Airbase in São Paulo.

"Many are already Brazilians who were there, but those who came here because they have relatives here, can feel welcome, because we are a country with a very generous heart, and we know the importance that the Arab people have for the culture established throughout the world," Lula said, pledging to continue the repatriation operation.

"As long as there is a comrade, whether Brazilian or related to one, there in Lebanon who wants to come to Brazil, we will go and get them, because we will not leave anyone behind," he said.

"May you find here in Brazil the happiness that was taken from you in Lebanon."

First lady Janja Silva also welcomed the evacuees, saying she had felt "heartbroken" for people still in the war zone.

"I would like to express my special affection for all the women and children arriving in Brazil today and say that our hearts also go out to the women and children who are still there," she said Janja.

"And to say a message to the men of the world: please stop killing our women and children! Stop this war! The world needs peace, we don't need bombs and more deaths."

Dozens of other officials from the ministries of justice, public health, foreign affairs, human rights and social assistance were also present at the reception to help facilitate immigration process.

One evacuee, Rami Rkeim, spoke of the horrors witnessed in Lebanon, saying: "[Israeli government] are cowards, terrorists, because for them to say that there are bombs and weapons under schools, under hospitals, that is cowardice."

The foreign ministry said it was monitoring around 20,000 Brazilians living in Lebanon, with 3,000 of which had requested help to evacuate. It said that priority was given to the elderly, women, children and people with disabilities.

Israel's brutal offensive on Lebanon, which has been marked with a series of indiscriminate air strikes, has killed 2,119 people and injured 

Lula has previously accused Israel of committing genocide in its war on Gaza, where over 42,000 people were killed - mostly women and children.

Brazil hosts a large number of Lebanese-origin communities, with São Paulo being home to one of the largest Lebanese communities in the world.

Prominent figures of Lebanese descent, such as former São Paulo mayor Fernando Haddad and billionaire businessman Abilio Diniz, have emerged in different fields, showcasing the community's influence in politics and business.