NEW DELHI: Brazilian President Lula da Silva compared the Israel's operations in Gaza to the
holocaust
and called it a "
genocide
" triggering a strong response from Tel Aviv making them "livid", according to a Times of Israel report.
"What's happening in the Gaza Strip isn't a war,. It's not a war of soldiers against soldiers. It's a war between a highly prepared army and women and children,"
Brazil President Lula
told reporters while attending the African Union summit in Ethiopia.
The President also said that, "what is happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people hasn't happened at any other moment in history, except one: when Hitler decided to kill the Jews."
In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a statement on X that Lula has "crossed a red line." He said, "This is about trivializing the Holocaust and trying to harm the Jewish people and Israel's right to defend itself."
He also said, "Israel fights for its defense and securing its future until complete victory and it does so while upholding international law."
The Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, also condemned Lula's comments as "shameful and grave."
Also, Israeli PM Netanyahu and foreign minister Katz decided to "summon the Brazilian ambassador to Israel for a stern reprimand conversation immediately," according to Netanyahu's post on X.
Meanwhile, Opposition leader Yair Lapid said, Brazil President's comments "show ignorance and antisemitism" and that Israel was "broken-hearted and shocked by the massacre of its citizens" on October 7.
(With inputs from agencies)
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