LA PAZ, Bolivia — Bolivia is severing diplomatic relations with Israel over the war against Hamas, the Latin American country announced on Tuesday as Colombia and Chile said they were recalling their ambassador to the Jewish state.
La Paz’s move came in response to what it called an “aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive taking place in the Gaza Strip,” said Bolivian Deputy Foreign Minister Freddy Mamani at a press conference.
María Nela Prada, Bolivia’s acting foreign minister, likewise charged the Israel Defense Forces with “crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip against the Palestinian people.”
On Oct. 7, Hamas terror forces invaded southern Israel under the cover of massive rocket barrages, killing at least 1,400 people, the majority of them civilians, and wounding thousands of others. More than 240 people were taken back to the Gaza Strip as hostages.
In response, the Israeli military has pounded Hamas assets in Gaza from the land and air, striking terrorist cells and command and control centers. Since Oct. 7, the IDF has hit some 11,000 terror targets in the Strip, Jerusalem revealed on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Chile decided to recall its ambassador to Israel “in the face of the unacceptable violations of international humanitarian law committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip,” per a statement from Santiago’s foreign ministry.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also announced he was recalling his envoy.
“It’s called Genocide, they do it to remove the Palestinian people from Gaza and take it over,” said Petro in a post on X (formerly Twitter), in reference to Israel’s ground operation in the coastal enclave.
Last week, Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticized what he called “the insanity of the prime minister of Israel [in] wanting to destroy the Gaza Strip but forgetting that there aren’t just Hamas soldiers there but also women and children who are the big victims of this war.”
Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Brazil have in recent years all elected far-left leaders.
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