Bolivia is the first country in Latin America to end its diplomatic relationship with Israel because it believes Israel used too much force in their military actions in Gaza.
The nation asked for a stop in fighting and promised to give help to Gaza, which is currently isolated.
An Israeli official said that the action was giving in to terrorism.
Lior Haiat said the Bolivian government is working together with the terrorist group Hamas.
Bolivia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Freddy Mamani said that the government decided to end its relationship with Israel because they strongly disapprove of the aggressive and unfair military attacks happening in the Gaza Strip.
He said the country wanted Israel to stop blocking important things like food and water from getting in.
Gaza has been trapped by Israel for many weeks, and people can only get important help occasionally from Egypt’s Rafah crossing.
Mr Haiat commented that Israel disapproves of Bolivia’s support for terrorism and its alliance with the Iranian regime. This reflects the values of the Bolivian government.
People are saying that Iran helped Hamas with their October 7 attacks. Iran’s leaders have celebrated and praised the violence, but they say they were not involved.
Other countries in Latin America have also started taking diplomatic actions against Israel, not just Bolivia.
Chile’s President Gabriel Boric announced on Tuesday that he is calling back the country’s ambassador in Tel Aviv to have discussions. This decision was made because of the unacceptable actions that Israel has taken in the Gaza Strip, which violate International Humanitarian Law.
Chile strongly dislikes and is worried about the military operations happening in Gaza. They believe that these operations are hurting innocent Palestinian people and treating them unfairly.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said the same thing on social media.
Mr Petro said that he has chosen to ask our ambassador in Israel to have a discussion. He also mentioned that if Israel continues to kill many Palestinians, we cannot stay there.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva requested a halt to fighting. After hearing about a recent attack by Israel in Gaza, Lula commented on X, saying that it’s the first time he’s seen a war where most of the people who died are children. Please, oh please, stop.
Most of the 8,500 people who died in the war in Gaza, according to the health ministry run by Hamas, were adults. However, this number also includes 3,500 children.
Israel has been continually attacking Gaza after the deadly Hamas attack on October 7th, which resulted in the deaths of 1,400 people and the abduction of at least 239 people.
On Tuesday, the US announced that 66 trucks successfully brought aid to Gaza. However, charities are concerned that this may not be sufficient.
The boss of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said that before the war, around 500 trucks would go into Gaza every day.
Bolivia and Israel started being friends again in 2019. It stopped working with the country in 2009 when President Evo Morales was in charge, because they were against what Israel was doing in Gaza.
On Monday, Bolivia’s President Luis Arce said that Israel’s actions in Gaza were very wrong and against the rules of war. He said this after meeting with the Palestinian ambassador to Bolivia, Mahmoud Elalwani.