
Uruguayan Foreign Ministry Omar Paganini Monday underlined Israel's right to self-defense on the first anniversary of the Hamas raids in which over 1,000 people were killed and over 200 taken hostage to the Gaza Strip, thus triggering Tel Aviv's full-scale military response. Montevideo's top diplomat also expressed his concern given the number of civilian casualties and forced displacements while urging all parties to de-escalate the conflict.

Operation Cedar Roots has been postponed due to unsafe conditions reaching Beirut's International Airport by land for the some 220 Brazilians stranded in war-torn Lebanon, Agencia Brasil reported Friday. According to the latest update, the FAB aircraft is now scheduled to take off Saturday from Lisbon, Portugal, to the Lebanese capital.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres was declared persona non grata Wednesday by Israel after failing to condemn Tuesday's rocket attack by Iran, Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced on X. The former Portuguese Prime Minister has thus been banned from entering the country, Katz explained.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ordered a Brazilian Air Force (FAB) aircraft sent to rescue nationals of the South American country from war-torn Lebanon as Israeli forces launched Monday a land invasion following days of shelling and air strikes killing high-ranking leaders of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, Agencia Brasil reported citing an announcement from the Itamaraty Palace.

Brazil's Foreign Ministry condemned in the strongest terms Israel's deployment into parts of Lebanese territory Monday which left 492 people dead and 1,645 wounded. Itamaraty also deplored Tel Aviv's declarations in favor of the military operations urging Lebanese civilians to evacuate their homes in those regions as people fleeing southern Lebanon caused traffic jams.

By Gwynne Dyer
The exploding pagers that killed at least 12 people and injured 2 800 others in Lebanon and adjacent places on Tuesday were mostly just a new wrinkle on the exploding cell-phones that Israel has used to assassinate its opponents in the past, but there was one major innovation.

The Chilean Government of President Gabriel Boric Font announced Friday that the South American country had joined South Africa's filing before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel for its alleged breach of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide against the Palestinian community.

A joint statement from the leaders of United Kingdom, Germany and France called for an immediate end to fighting Gaza, the release of Israeli hostages and the prevention of further escalation, especially on the part of Iran and its allies.

The Government of Argentina admitted Tuesday that it had received a security alert from Israel about a possible Iranian attack. Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos said Israel expected “a very strong attack from Iran against targets that are friends.” Argentina has already suffered two anti-Jewish attacks in the 1990s.

A full-scale Iranian attack against Israel is deemed imminent both in Tel Aviv and Washington DC alike in retaliation for last week's killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh while in Tehran. US President Joseph Biden was to convene his national security team while Israeli authorities are considering the possibility of switching from a defensive to an offensive strategy.