This Sunday's flight is part of the first phase of the federal government's Operation “Cedar Roots”, aimed at repatriating Brazilians.    Photo: EFE

Brasilia, October 7 (RHC)-- According to Lula da Silva, the Brazilian government “will not abandon anyone” who aspires to leave the war conflict.  The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said Sunday that the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, “murders innocents” in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon as a method to preserve his position of power.

This Sunday, Lula da Silva welcomed 229 Brazilians and their relatives rescued from Lebanon, who arrived at the Guarulhos air base, in the state of Sao Paulo (southeast). They arrived in a flight assigned by the Brazilian Air Force to the city of Beirut, capital of Lebanon, which is bombed by Israel under the pretext of fighting the Islamic movement Hezbollah.

The head of state of the South American nation maintained that it has always maintained a firm position against the attacks by the Palestinian movement Hamas, which killed more than 1,000 individuals in Israel and captured numerous hostages, on October 7, 2023.

“But we also have a very tough position against the behavior of the Israeli government,” Lula da Silva maintained, because ”it kills innocents, women and children, without any respect for human life.”

“This is a way that the ruler of Israel, Netanyahu, found to stay in power. He is taking revenge on the Palestinians and now with Beirut,” he added.

Operation “Cedar Roots” is underway by the government of Brasilia, whose objective is to locate and rescue Brazilians or their relatives residing in Lebanon who wish to leave the Middle Eastern country, following Israel's aggression.

According to Lula da Silva, his government “will not abandon anyone” who aspires to leave the war, highlighting the contribution that the Arab community as a whole and the Lebanese community in particular have made to the formation of contemporary Brazil.