Israel protests over Brazilian president's remarks comparing Gaza war to Holocaust

Israel on Sunday criticized Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for comparing the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's Holocaust against Jews, with Tel Aviv announcing that it would summon the South American country's envoy for an official protest on Monday.

In a statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called da Silva's statements "shameful" and "serious."

"No one will harm Israel's right to defend itself. I have ordered the people of my office to summon the Brazilian ambassador for a reprimand call tomorrow," he added on X.

Earlier in the day, da Silva accused Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip, citing an Israeli army ongoing offensive that has killed nearly 29,000 Palestinians since Oct. 7 following a Hamas attack.

"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," he added.

"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," he remarked.