Lula makes presidential plane available to rescue Brazilians in Gaza

The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) informed that it will use a presidential plane, VC-2 (Embraer 190), with capacity for 40 passengers, to repatriate Brazilians amid the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

This is the sixth aircraft available to carry out the federal government’s Returning in Peace operation.

“The activation was carried out urgently this afternoon. The takeoff will be from the Brasília Air Base, destined for Rome, Italy”, says the FAB.

A crisis office was installed to activate Brazilian embassies and consulates throughout the region, define flight plans to repatriate Brazilians in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank and coordinate humanitarian corridors for rescue with Israel, Egypt and Lebanon.

Last Saturday (7), Hamas coordinated an offensive and attacked the Israeli walls at 29 points. The Islamic paramilitary group used 5,000 rockets, drones and bulldozers to destroy sections of the 65km wall that separates Israel from the Gaza Strip.

By land, air and sea, with drones, paragliders, boats and excavators, Hamas fighters disabled communications towers and carried out a massive incursion into territories occupied by Israel, leaving more than 1,200 dead, the majority civilians.

Since then, an unprecedented Israeli counteroffensive has violated a range of human rights in Gaza. A series of bombings in the strip since Saturday has left 1,417 people dead and another 340,000 homeless.

The Israeli escalation is worrying Brazilian authorities, who are awaiting Egypt’s approval to remove 28 Brazilians from the Gaza Strip. Among them, the government identified an elderly woman and 15 children.

Diplomats involved with Operation Returning in Peace warn of the desperate situation of these citizens. According to the investigation carried out by journalist Mônica Bergamo, from Folha de S.Pauloinformation received by the Lula government shows the real possibility that they could die of hunger if Israel does not negotiate humanitarian corridors and continues to block even water.