Lula says Israel committing 'equivalent of terrorism' in Gaza

Israel is committing the "equivalent of terrorism" in Gaza by killing innocent civilians, including women and children, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Tuesday.

The veteran leftist had previously condemned Hamas's Oct. 7 assault on Israel.

But the leader of Latin America's biggest country said the Palestinian resistance group's actions do not justify Israel's military response in Gaza, where more than 11,200 people, also mostly civilians, have been killed.

"Israel's attitude toward children, toward women, is the equivalent of terrorism. There's no other way to put it," Lula said in his weekly social media address.

"If I know a place is full of children, even if there's a monster inside, I can't kill the children just because I want to kill the monster."

The comments came as the Israeli military encircled Gaza's biggest hospital, which has been forced to bury scores of dead patients in a mass grave.

Lula, 78, had already come in for criticism from Zionist groups in Brazil for his remarks on the conflict.

On Monday, he said that "even if Hamas committed a terrorist act, Israel is also committing various acts of terrorism, by failing to take into account that children and women are not involved in the war."

Those statements came as he welcomed a flight carrying 32 Brazilians and family members evacuated from Gaza through its land border with Egypt.

The evacuation took weeks of diplomatic wrangling and had stoked tension between Brazil and Israel.

Israel has been criticized for committing acts of terrorism, genocide and war crimes against innocent civilians in Gaza.