According to an official statement, these returnees “bring with them many more smiles than the fear and tension they have experienced in the last few days.”
There are 17 children, nine women and six men, who waited more than 30 days for permission from the authorities of Israel, Gaza and Egypt to return to Brazil, amid the armed conflict that began on October 7 between the military wing of the US Hamas movement and Tel Aviv.
The text states that there are 22 compatriots and 10 Palestinians related to Brazilians.
He indicates that after the bureaucratic procedures were completed this Sunday, they were shipped to Cairo, capital of that country, in vehicles chartered by the Brazilian Embassy in Egypt, making a journey of almost six hours in the presence of Brazilian diplomats.
A Brazilian Air Force (FAB) flight must take off from the Egyptian capital tomorrow, the Itamaraty Palace, headquarters of the Foreign Ministry, reported in a publication on social networks.
Arrival at Brasilia Air Base is scheduled for Monday at 11:30 p.m. local time.
“Congratulations to Itamaraty and the FAB for the exemplary commitment and competence in Operation Returning in Peace, which searched for and welcomed Brazilians living in the conflict region who wanted to return to Brazil,” President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wrote in a publication on your profile on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
When the presidency’s plane lands in this capital, the so-called Operation Return in Peace will have carried 1,477 passengers, including 1,462 Brazilians, 11 Palestinians, three Bolivians and one Jordanian, as well as 53 pets.
“The situation of these Brazilians is currently resolved, but the conflict situation is very serious. “President Lula remains deeply involved in solving the problem,” said Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira during a press conference this Sunday.
He said the president’s intention was “to discuss this again in the United Nations Security Council starting this week so that a way can be found to suspend these hostilities.”
Since the crisis began, Lula has held telephone conversations with authorities from the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, France, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Qatar, the European Council, Spain and India.
Vieira also held frequent discussions with the foreign ministers of Israel and Egypt. “The entire attempt to liberate the Brazilians was undertaken from the beginning (October 7, date of the first attacks against Israel) by the government under daily surveillance at the direction of President Lula,” he noted.
jha/ocs