Sergio Lima / AFP

Bolivia, ruled by leftist President Luis Arce, was the first Latin American country to cut diplomatic ties with the Jewish state. (Photo by Luis Arce in May 2023)

INTERNATIONAL – The Bolivian government announced Tuesday, October 31, that it is cutting diplomatic ties with Israel because of the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Govt “Decided to sever diplomatic ties with the State of Israel as a sign of rejection and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military attack on the Gaza Strip”Bolivian Deputy Foreign Minister Freddy Mamani made the announcement at a press conference.

Bolivia, ruled by leftist President Luis Arce, was the first Latin American country to cut diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.

“We demand a halt to the attack”

“We are sending this official communication to the Government of Israel in which we are informing them of our decision”During the same conference, the General Secretary of the President, Maria Nela Prada, announced the dispatch of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

“We demand an end to the attacks (…) which have so far resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians and the forced displacement of Palestinians”She added.

Bolivia already severed diplomatic relations with Israel in 2009. While La Paz has recognized the Palestinian state since the 1980s, former leftist President Evo Morales preferred to protest Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. Diplomatic relations were re-established in November 2019 by the right-wing interim government of Luis Arce, the then runner-up. – Until Evo Morales, won the presidential election in 2020.

Bloody revenges

The war between Israel and Hamas, which entered its 25th day on Tuesday, was sparked by the Palestinian Islamist movement’s bloody attack on Israeli soil from the Gaza Strip it controls on October 7, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians.

In response, the Israeli military has been relentlessly shelling the besieged territory, home to 2.4 million Palestinians. It is now conducting increasingly deep ground operations there.

At least 50 people were killed in an Israeli bombardment of the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the Hamas Health Ministry announced.

Before the bombing, Hamas reported 8,525 deaths, including 3,542 children, and more than 21,000 wounded.

In the occupied West Bank, at least 122 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers since October 7, according to the local health ministry.

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