Tel Aviv [Israel], February 19 : Brazilian President Lula da Silva compared Israel's ongoing operation in Gaza to the 'Holocaust' against the Palestinian people, a remark that left Tel Aviv 'livid' as it hit back, calling the remarks "shameful," the Times of Israel reported.
Lula said that Israel is committing "genocide" against Palestinian civilians in the Strip, adding that the only historical equivalent was "when Hitler decided to kill the Jews."
"What's happening in the Gaza Strip isn't a war, it's a genocide," Lula told reporters in Addis Ababa, where he was attending an African Union summit. "It's not a war of soldiers against soldiers. It's a war between a highly prepared army and women and children."
Lula went on to assert 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."
Israel responded with outrage to Lula's comments, calling them "shameful" and saying the country's ambassador would be summoned for a "stern reprimand."
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the Brazilian leader had "crossed a red line."
"The words of the President of Brazil are shameful and alarming," Times of Israel quoted Netanyahu as saying in a statement.
"This is a trivialization of the Holocaust and an attempt to harm the Jewish people and Israel's right to defend itself," Netanyahu said. "Israel is fighting for its defence and securing its future until complete victory and it does so while upholding international law."
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called the comments "shameful and grave."
"No one will harm Israel's right to defend itself," he said.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Lula's comments "show ignorance and antisemitism" and that Israel was "broken-hearted and shocked by the massacre of its citizens" on October 7.
"I wonder what Lula would have said if a terrorist organization had harmed Brazil that way," he added. "Shame."
Israel's war with Hamas broke out on October 7, after Hamas carried out an unprecedented terror attack on Israel's south, killing around 1,200 people, and kidnapping over 250 people amid acts of brutality including sexual violence.
Meanwhile, Israel has said that civilian casualties are the result of combatants operating from behind the cover of innocents. It has stressed it makes efforts to minimize the deaths of Gazan civilians, the Times of Israel reported.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor