Brazil says Israel's action in Gaza beyond 'ethical or legal limits'

The Brazilian government said on Friday that the killing of over 100 people seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza shows that Israel's military action there has no "ethical or legal" boundaries and renewed its call for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict.

"Humanity is failing the civilians of Gaza. And it's time to prevent further massacres," Brazil's foreign ministry said in a statement. "It is up to the international community to call a halt to it and avoid new atrocities." On Thursday, Israeli forces shot dead more than 100 Palestinians as they waited for an aid delivery, according to Gaza health authorities.

Israeli officials have dismissed that death toll and blamed the deaths on crowds that surrounded aid trucks, saying people were trampled or run over. "The Netanyahu government has once again shown, through its actions and statements, that the military action in Gaza has no ethical or legal limits," Brazil said, dubbing remarks by Israeli officials about the incident as "cynical".

Brazil and Israel have been in a diplomatic row over comments made by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva likening Israel's war in Gaza to the Nazi genocide during World War Two. Israel described the comments as a serious anti-Semitic attack and has demanded an apology; Brazilian sources have said that would not happen.

The Gaza war began when the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas sent fighters into Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seizing 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. More than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza have since been killed, health officials in the enclave say. The South American nation, which has also condemned the Hamas attacks as "terrorist," reiterated that a ceasefire, the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of all hostages were "absolutely urgent".