Condemning civilian toll in Palestine, Honduras recalls ambassador to Israel
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Tegucigalpa, Honduras: Honduras was the latest government in Latin America to withdraw its ambassador to Israel for consultations on Friday, citing grave breaches of international law in the Gaza Strip, including genocide.
Eduardo Enrique Reina, the country's minister of foreign affairs, announced on X, formerly Twitter, that President Xiomara Castro has chosen to promptly recall the ambassador, in light of “the serious humanitarian situation the civilian Palestinian population is suffering in the Gaza Strip.”
Honduras is the most recent left-leaning nation in Latin America to condemn Israel's escalating attack diplomatically.
Israel was accused of committing "crimes against humanity" in Gaza, leading Bolivia's government to terminate diplomatic ties with it on Tuesday. Along with criticising Israel's offensive against Hamas fighters, Chile and Colombia also pulled back their own ambassadors to Israel, the Associated Press reported.
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, which is managed by Hamas, 9,227 Palestinians have died in the Israel-Hamas war.
Reina stated to The Associated Press that the government chose to remove the ambassador until further information was available and that the purpose of the recall was to highlight the civilian situation in Gaza. He said that the embassy will continue to house Honduran diplomats and staff and that relations with Israel are still stable.
He highlighted the major aspects of a recent resolution passed by the UN that demanded an immediate ceasefire, respect for humanitarian law, and the beginning of peace negotiations.