The Brazilian government officially withdrew its ambassador from Israel on Wednesday, following a diplomatic dispute over the Gaza war.
Federico Meyer will represent Brazil at the Geneva Conference on Disarmament in the future, according to an announcement in the country’s official gazette. This means that the Brazilian embassy in Israel will be headed exclusively by a charge d’affaires.
Meyer had already been summoned to Brazil in February for consultations after an escalation of disputes over the assessment of the war in Gaza.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva compared the Israeli military operation in Gaza to the Holocaust.
In response, the Israeli Foreign Minister said Israel Katz declared him an undesirable person and summoned Ambassador Meyer to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, a move seen as a public humiliation by the Brazilian government.
The war in Gaza was sparked by the unprecedented massacre of more than 1,200 people by terrorists from the Palestinian Islamist Hamas group and other militants on October 7. They also took more than 200 people as hostages to Gaza.
Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive. Criticism of Israel has increased as the death toll among Palestinians has risen. According to health authorities in Gaza, there are currently more than 36,100 deaths.
