MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay assessing accepting Gaza refugees

This is not a joke, Lubetkin stressed

Uruguay's Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin confirmed on Tuesday that his country was “seriously” and “very carefully” analyzing the possibility of accepting Palestinian refugees from Gaza. He emphasized that many people were “desperately” seeking to leave the region and contacted Uruguayan embassies for assistance.

Lubetkin stressed that the process is “highly complicated” due to the involvement of multiple international actors, including Israel, which must authorize any departure, and the Red Cross.

The minister stated that Uruguay, as a “welcoming, responsible, and humane country,” will not make any promises it cannot keep. Any plan must be “financed, planned, and guaranteed” to ensure that those who arrive are properly cared for and not just using Uruguay as a transit point to go elsewhere.

The Uruguayan Foreign Ministry has previously condemned Israel's occupation of Gaza City and reaffirmed its support for a two-state solution.

“It is true, and I recognize it, that there is a long list of families in Gaza desperately asking to leave,” Lubetkin told reporters in Montevideo. “To move from where they are, they need authorization from Israel, they need the Red Cross, in short, there are so many actors involved,” he added.

“If we promise something, it is because we have to deliver. We are working to understand how realistic it can be,” he also pointed out while noting things cannot be taken lightly, as it would be a plan that “has to be financed, planned, and guaranteed.”

“We are not playing games. This is not a joke. It is too important an issue in the context of the great despair caused by the current drama in Gaza,” he also stressed. “They need Israel's authorization to leave. They need the Red Cross; in short, there are so many actors involved,” and “we are addressing it, we are monitoring it.”