On Wednesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared that genocide was taking place in Gaza.

"It's not a war, it's a genocide that has killed nearly 2 thousand children who have nothing to do with this war, they are victims of this war. And frankly, I don't know how a human being is capable of war knowing that the result of that war is the death of innocent children," the Brazilian President declared.

Brazilian President Lula:

This is not a war, this is genocide, which has already killed about 2,000 children who had nothing to do with it.

I don't know how a person can wage a war knowing that the result will be more deaths of innocent children. pic.twitter.com/GAOcEYrfiN

— Sprinter (@Sprinter99800) October 25, 2023

Da Silva attended the installation of the Federation Council at the Planalto presidential palace and spoke briefly ahead of a phone call with Qatar’s Emir Tamin bin al Thani to discuss the ongoing situation in the Middle East.

"I have a phone call [scheduled] with the emir of Qatar to try to find someone who can talk to someone to see if they can release first the Brazilians who are stranded in the Gaza Strip, a few kilometers from the border with Egypt, who want to return to Brazil," he reported.

In an attempt to mediate a resolution related to Gaza, the President conducted discussions with the presidents of several nations, including the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, France, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the Israeli entity. 

"What is currently happening in the Middle East is serious, and it's not a question of discussing who is right or who is wrong, who fired the first shot and who fired the second," he added.

Brazil is in favor of freeing the hostages and opening a humanitarian corridor to deliver supplies to Gaza Strip residents.

On October 15, amid the developments in Palestine and the Israeli occupation’s genocidal aggression in Gaza, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas discussed the situation with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a phone call.

During the phone call, President Abbas highlighted the need to halt the Israeli aggression on Gaza and the dire importance of opening a humanitarian corridor for the provision of medical supplies and other important supplies that have been cut off by the Israelis, such as water, electricity, and fuel.

For his part, President Lula da Silva asserted Brazil’s solidarity with the people of Palestine in their efforts to attain freedom and independence, underscoring the urgent need for humanitarian and medical aid to the Gaza Strip.