On October 31, La Paz announced that Bolivia had severed diplomatic relations with Israel due to its actions in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, neighboring countries, Colombia and Chile, recalled their ambassadors from Israel for consultations in protest against the Israeli attacks and the loss of Palestinian lives.
The three South American nations strongly criticized Israel’s military operations in Gaza and expressed their condemnation of the Palestinian civilian casualties. Bolivia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Freddy Mamani, made a public statement, saying, “Bolivia has chosen to terminate diplomatic relations with the Israeli state as a clear expression of our repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate military offensive that Israel is currently conducting in the Gaza Strip.”
The three nations jointly called for an immediate ceasefire, with Bolivia and Chile urging the facilitation of humanitarian aid into the affected area and accusing Israel of violating international law.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro described the Israeli attacks as a “massacre of the Palestinian people” in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
At the time of the report, there was no immediate response from Israel’s foreign ministry to requests for comment. that Bolivia had severed
Other Latin American countries, such as Mexico and Brazil, have also called for a ceasefire.
“What we have now is the insanity of Israel’s prime minister, who wants to wipe out the Gaza Strip,” said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday.
Bolivia is among the first countries to actively break diplomatic relations with Israel over its war in Gaza, retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel by Palestinian Hamas militants who Israel says killed 1,400 people, including children, and took 240 people hostage.