Handout picture released by the Brazilian Presidency shows Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaking during the opening ceremony of the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa on February 17, 2024. (Photo by Ricardo Stuckert / Brazilian Presidency / AFP)
Addis Ababa: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accused Israel Sunday of committing "genocide" against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and compared its actions to Adolf Hitler's campaign to exterminate 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," added the veteran leftist.
"What's happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people hasn't happened at any other moment in history. Actually, it has happened: when Hitler decided to kill the Jews."
They were among the strongest comments yet on the conflict from Lula, a prominent voice for the global south whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the G20.
