Public Note #74 – In Defense of Peace and the Immediate End of the Horror in Gaza

Given the exceptional gravity of the devastating situation in Gaza, the Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns Human Rights Defense Commission strongly condemns all acts of violence carried out by the extremist government of the State of Israel, which employs its security forces to torment defenseless civilians, seeking to suppress their means of livelihood.
We express our deep concern, in solidarity with the inhumane suffering inflicted on the lives of people trying to survive intolerable aggressions. These attacks affect babies, children, women, and the elderly, who have been the main victims of the ongoing degradation.
The assaults do not target combatants. They aim at the complete destruction of civil infrastructure. Military blockades prevent the arrival of humanitarian aid. People have no access to water, food, energy, medicines, sanitation, communication, or healthcare. It has become impossible to access essential goods for life. The anguish of the Palestinian people, punished by hunger and disease, is intolerable.
The most recent escalation of violence has generated widespread condemnation from the international community and even within Israel, where reports of civilian, academic, and military protests against the atrocities committed in their name are emerging. Calls are made for an end to the criminal offensive, both inside and outside the country.
We appeal to all nations as well to civil society, in Brazil and abroad, to pressure the deviant government to immediately cease hostilities.
The peace desired by all includes the release of the hostages captured in the barbaric attack of October 7, 2023, which brought unspeakable suffering to Israeli families, to whom we extend our solidarity, condemning anti-Semitism.
The Arns Commission joins the outcry in defense of the lives of those who are being humiliated and insulted in their essential dignity as human beings. All of them have the inalienable right to live in peace and security in their homes and land.
It is imperative to halt the extermination.
Without compassion, peace cannot be found.
Therefore, the cruel and violent acts that, according to decisions of the International Court of Justice, may constitute crimes against humanity, among other serious violations of International Law, must cease immediately.
Let the weapons be silenced.
Enough of this horror!