In an especially mortifying blunder, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made a public declaration that "insane war bombings against humanity" in Israel and Gaza had resulted in the deaths of 12.3 million children.
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An embarrassing mistake for Da Silva, Minister Katz responds sarcastically
(Photo: AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, Ricardo STUCKERT / BRAZILIAN PRESIDENCY / AFP)
During a nationwide conference on children's and youth rights held last Wednesday, President da Silva, who has previously likened Israel's actions to Hitler's genocide, urged the audience to raise their hands as a symbol of solidarity with the children of Gaza.
He further stated: "Let's honor nearly 40,000 children who lost their lives or were orphaned due to the coronavirus, Brazilian children who succumbed to malnutrition as they're still not receiving the necessary calories and proteins, and primarily - this is a tribute to the nearly 12.3 million children who lost their lives in the Gaza Strip and Israel due to the bombings in a deranged war against humanity."
The figure he quoted is grossly exaggerated. The Palestinian Ministry of Health, under the governance of Hamas, has reported that the war resulted in approximately 33,000 Palestinian deaths, of which 12,400 were children.
Reacting to President da Silva's remarks, Israel's Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, said: "There should be a law mandating anyone who wants to be a president to learn how to count."