Colombian President Gustavo Petro has called for an end to the ongoing Israeli genocide in the besieged Gaza Strip, labeling the regime's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a "war criminal."
Petro made the remarks during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, as he criticized Netanyahu for continuing the bombardment of Gaza.
“It is in this inequality […] that we find the logic of the mass destruction unleashed by the climate crisis and the logic of the bombs dropped by a criminal like Netanyahu on Gaza,” Petro said.
“When Gaza dies, all of humanity will die. Today we have 20,000 dead children,” he added.
Petro hit out at the current world order which allows Israel to bomb Gaza and Lebanon and imposes unilateral sanctions on others.
“The powerful global oligarchy allows bombs to be dropped on Gaza, Lebanon and Sudan, or allows the economic blockade of rebellious countries that do not fit into its domain, such as Cuba and Venezuela,” he said.
He said the power of a nation in the world is "no longer exercised by political and economic power, but by destroying humanity”.
“Those of us who have the power to sustain life speak without being paid attention to. That is why they do not listen to us when we vote to stop the genocide in Gaza. The presidents who can destroy humanity do not listen to us,” he said.
On Sunday, Petro rejected accusations of being anti-Semitic over his pro-Palestine stance, saying anti-Semitism is manifested in the killing of Gaza children and not in speaking against Israel’s ongoing genocide.
He made the remarks after US special envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Deborah Lipstadt claimed that Petro's criticism of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza was “harmful” as it “normalizes” anti-Semitism.
Israel unleashed its war on Gaza on October 7 last year after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas conducted Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
Since the start of the aggression, the Tel Aviv regime has killed more than 41,400 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. Over 95,900 Palestinians have also been injured.
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is preparing to leave the Trump administration after what a new report has described as months of tension with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, potentially triggering another change at the army’s top echelons.
According to the Friday report by The Wall Street Journal, Driscoll is expected to step down before the end of the year and could leave his post earlier. The newspaper cited people familiar with discussions over his departure.
The Journal reported that Driscoll and his family vacated the official residence assigned to the army secretary at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall this summer, a move that could indicate he was preparing to leave the position.
The reported departure would come at a time of continuing uncertainty at the top echelons of the army.
Hegseth abruptly removed Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April, while Trump has not yet nominated a permanent successo....more below
...
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warns the enemies that any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic will not go unanswered.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC issued a “stern warning” to the enemies after US forces launched strikes against the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
Following the US military attack on a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport with aerial projectiles, the IRGC carried out new strikes targeting the US air base from which the attack originated in the wee hours of Thursday, it added.
“This response is a serious warning to the enemy that they should know the act of aggression will not go unanswered,” the IRGC emphasized.
The elite military force warned of a “more decisive” response if the enemy repeated any act of aggression.
It also said the responsibility for the consequences of any IRGC response lies with the aggressor.
The statement comes after the IRGC Navy on Thursday forced an American tanker to turn back. The tanker ...
