NEW YORK: The greatest worldwide example of “disproportionate and illegal use of force” is in Gaza, Brazilian President Lula da Silva told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, accusing Israel of “genocide.”

Though he condemned the Hamas attack on Israel of Oct. 7, 2023, as “indefensible from any angle,” he added: “Nothing, absolutely nothing, justifies the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

Beneath the rubble in the besieged enclave, there are “buried tens of thousands of innocent women and children,” Lula said.

“International humanitarian law and the myth of the ethical superiority of the West are also buried there,” he added.

“This massacre wouldn’t have happened without the complicity of those who could’ve prevented it.”

He accused Israel of using hunger as a weapon of war through the denial of humanitarian aid to Gaza, as well as forcibly displacing Palestinians “with impunity.”

He added: “I express my admiration to the Jews who, inside and outside Israel, oppose this collective punishment.”

Lula warned that the Palestinian people “are at risk of disappearing,” and could only be protected through an independent state that is integrated into the international community.

“This is the solution advocated by more than 150 UN members, reaffirmed yesterday, here in this very plenary, but obstructed by a single (US) veto,” he added.

Lula also condemned the US for blocking the Palestinian delegation to the UNGA, adding that it is “regrettable” that President Mahmoud Abbas was prevented from occupying the Palestinian seat “at this historic moment.”

Lula warned that Israel’s war in Gaza is risking regional security, adding: “The spread of this conflict to Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Qatar is fueling an unprecedented arms buildup.”