'It's a genocide': Brazil’s Lula compares war on Gaza to Holocaust, sparking controversy

Brazilian President Lula compares the Gaza conflict to the Holocaust, inciting controversy.

Israel summoned its ambassador and chided him, but Hamas thanked the leader, who plans to boost Brazil's Unrwa contribution. 

Israeli retaliation followed Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's comparison of Israel's killing of Palestinians in Gaza to the Nazi extermination of Jews during World War Two. 

There is no historical parallel to what is occurring with the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Lula stated as much on Sunday at the 37th African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during the German dictator Adolf Hitler's decision to exterminate the Jewish people. 

The comments, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called "disgraceful and grave," prompted the Israeli Foreign Ministry to announce that it would call the Brazilian ambassador. 

That is an attempt to denigrate the Holocaust and undermine Israel's right to self-defence as well as the Jewish people. "To draw parallels between Israel and the Nazis and Hitler is to step over a forbidden boundary," Netanyahu declared.

Regarding the Brazilian president's comments, the Hamas movement has stated that it "values" them and that they provide an "accurate description" of the suffering that Palestinians are going through with US assistance. 

The group emphasised that Palestinians are being subjected to atrocities never before seen in modern history and called on the International Court of Justice to take into consideration the Brazilian president's statement about what our Palestinian people are going through at the hands of the criminal occupation army.

While attending an African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Lula told reporters that the situation in the Gaza Strip "isn't a war, it's a genocide".

This is not a conflict between military personnel. The seasoned leftist continued, "It is a war between women and children and a highly prepared army.

The G20's rotating presidency is currently held by Lula's country, a well-known voice from the global south. Lula previously called Hamas's historic attack on Israel on October 7 a "terrorist" act.

He has, however, since become a more outspoken critic of Israel's military campaign of retaliation. 

Lula to boost Unrwa grant

Yoav Gallant, the Israeli minister of defence, referred to Lula's remarks as "outrageous and abhorrent" in the meantime. He wrote on X, "Brazil has stood with Israel for years." 

"President Lula supports a genocidal terrorist organisation -- Hamas, and in doing so brings great shame to his people, and violates the values of the free world," he said.

As per the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 28,858 people have died as a result of Israel's assault on Gaza, the majority of whom were women and children. 

Lula criticised Western nations for their recent decisions to stop funding UNRWA. This organisation assists Palestinian refugees following accusations by Israel that 12 of its staff members were involved in the October 7 attack. 

On the fringes of the summit on Saturday, Lula met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh. He announced that Brazil would increase its contribution to the agency and encouraged other nations to follow suit. 

"When I see the rich world announce that it's halting its contributions to humanitarian aid for the Palestinians, I just imagine how big these people's political awareness is and how big the spirit of solidarity in their hearts is," said Lula.

"We need to stop being small when we need to be big."

He restated his demand that the conflict be resolved by creating two states, with Palestine "definitively recognised as a full and sovereign state."