MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula plays football and criticizes Israel after hip surgery

“At a negotiating table, no one dies,” Lula said about the ongoing crisis in the Middle East

President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva “is already back, to score many more goals for Brazil,” said Vice President Geraldo Alckmin Tuesday while posting a picture of the head of state playing football. Lula, 77, underwent hip surgery on Sept. 29 at the Syrian-Lebanese hospital in Brasilia due to a case of osteoarthritis, which was causing him severe pain.

“I was discharged and I am already at the Alvorada Palace, where I will be working in the coming weeks. Thank you for the prayers and all the messages of affection. I am recovering to work even harder for Brazil and run a marathon,” Lula posted on Oct. 1 after being released from the clinic.

Lula is expected to resume his international agenda late in November for the UN Climate Conference COP28 in the United Arab Emirates.

In the meantime, Lula was highly critical of Israel Tuesday: “Hamas’s actions do not justify Israel’s killing of innocents,” he said on his weekly TV show.

O presidente @LulaOficial operou o quadril; mas já voltou, para marcar muito mais gols para o Brasil. @ricardostuckert pic.twitter.com/a5t8l736kv

— Geraldo Alckmin (@geraldoalckmin) October 24, 2023

“It’s not because Hamas committed a terrorist act against Israel that this country should kill millions of innocent people,” he added.

According to Agencia Brasil, Lula has already talked to leaders of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, France, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates to broker a solution to the conflict. Talks are also planned with leaders from China, South Africa, and Qatar.

“I’m talking to everyone so we can achieve three things. First, guaranteeing the humanitarian corridor so people can receive water, food, and medicine; ensuring there’s no shortage of electricity in hospitals so people can receive treatment; and ensuring that no more children are killed. There’s no example of a war in the world in which it is children who die the most. And I’m referring to children on both sides. We don’t want anyone to die,” Lula also pointed out.

“At a negotiating table, no one dies. It costs less and we can find a solution. We need to make sure that there, in the Middle East, Israel keeps the territory that’s theirs, as demarcated by the UN, and that the Palestinians have the right to their land. It’s as simple as that, and there’s no need for anyone to invade anyone else’s land,” he added.

The president also said there are Brazilians in the Gaza Strip, including women and children, awaiting repatriation in a region close to the border with Egypt. “I’ve spoken to the president of Egypt, my minister has spoken to the foreign minister, [and] the smaller presidential plane is already in Cairo waiting for these people. As soon as the border opens, we’ll pick up the Brazilians and bring them over here. Because that’s where they belong: a safe country with no war. And we want to give them the citizen’s life they couldn’t get living in the Gaza Strip, with the truculence and bombings,” Agencia Brasil also reported.

“Every day we see Israel invading Palestinian land and the UN does nothing because it’s weakened. That’s my role, to try to create the conditions so we can get back to the negotiating table. Just yesterday I spoke to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin about the war in Ukraine and the war in the Middle East. People need to stop,” Lula went on.