RIO DE JANEIRO: The government of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva denounced Israeli strikes on southern Gaza, urging the world not to "remain silent in the face of this endless massacre." "The most recent bombing in the Gaza Strip, which claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent people, is unacceptable," read a statement from the presidency.
The health ministry in the Gaza Strip said at least 92 people were killed and 300 wounded in a Saturday strike on Al-Mawasi, an Israeli-designated "safe zone" on the Mediterranean coast.
The civil defence agency said another 20 were killed in an Israeli strike on a makeshift mosque at Al-Shati refugee camp in the territory's north.
22 were killed in a Gaza school sheltering those displaced by the war, according to the civil defence agency.
"It is appalling that they continue to collectively punish the Palestinian people. Tens of thousands have already died in successive attacks since last year, many of them in delimited humanitarian zones that should be protected," said the statement. "We, the political leaders of the democratic world, cannot remain silent in the face of this endless massacre."
Brazil in May withdrew its ambassador from Israel over the conflict, ratcheting up tensions after he earlier accused the country's government of genocide.
Israel reacted furiously, declaring the Brazilian leader persona non grata.
Meanwhile, the health ministry in Gaza said on Monday at least 38,664 people have been killed in the war between Israel and Palestinian groups.
The toll includes 80 new deaths in 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 89,097 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began on October 7.
The ministry also updated the toll from an Israeli air strike on a school in central Gaza on Sunday, saying it had increased from 15 dead to 22.
The Abu Oreiban school was run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and housed "thousands of displaced people", civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said on Sunday. It was the fifth Israeli strike on a school being used to shelter displaced Palestinians in eight days. — AFP
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