Hosting BRICS, Brazil's Lula hits out at 'genocide' in Gaza

Brazil's president insisted the world must act to stop what he described as an Israeli "genocide" in Gaza, as leaders from 11 emerging BRICS nations gathered in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.

"We cannot remain indifferent to the genocide carried out by Israel in Gaza, the indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians and the use of hunger as a weapon of war," President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told leaders from China, India, and other nations.

His comments came as Gaza truce talks between Israel and Hamas resumed in Doha, and as pressure mounted to end the 22-month war.

Lula said Sunday that "absolutely nothing could justify the terrorist actions" of Hamas on that day -- which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly Israeli civilians.

But he also offered fierce criticism of Israel's subsequent actions.

Israel's campaign has killed at least 57,418 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the territory's health ministry. 

The BRICS gathering includes Israel's arch foe Iran, but also nations like Russia, which have close ties with the country.

BRICS leaders meeting have since called for negotiators to reach a quick and unconditional ceasefire to end the 22-month-old war in Gaza.

"We exhort the parties to engage in good faith in further negotiations to achieve an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire," the 11-nation bloc said in a final summit statement.

The BRICS also called for a "full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and all other parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories."

Then Iran's allies expressed "grave concern" about strikes against Iran, but did not explicitly mention Israel or the United States.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to visit the White House on Monday for talks with US President Donald Trump, who is pushing to end the war and has said he hopes for a ceasefire deal in the coming week.

Iran wins backing of BRICS allies over Israel, US strikes

Iran won the support of fellow BRICS nations meeting in Rio de Janeiro Sunday, with the bloc condemning recent Israel and US air strikes that hit military, nuclear and other targets.

"We condemn the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran since 13 June 2025," leaders said in a summit statement, without naming the United States or Israel.

"We further express serious concern over deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities," the bloc said.

The 11-nation grouping said the strikes "constitute a violation of international law."

The declaration is a diplomatic victory for Tehran, which has received limited regional or global support after a 12-day bombing campaign by the Israeli military, which culminated in US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan.

BRICS leaders defend multilateralism 'under attack'

Leaders of the growing BRICS group of developing nations called for reform of traditional Western institutions while presenting the bloc as a defender of multilateral diplomacy in an increasingly fractured world.

With forums such as the G7 and G20 groups of major economies hamstrung by divisions and the disruptive "America First" approach of US President Donald Trump, expansion of the BRICS has opened new space for diplomatic coordination.

In his opening remarks at the meeting in Rio de Janeiro, da Silva drew a parallel with the Cold War's Non-Aligned Movement, a group of developing nations that resisted formally joining either side of a polarized global order.

"BRICS is the heir to the Non-Aligned Movement," Lula told leaders. "With multilateralism under attack, our autonomy is in check once again."

BRICS nations now represent more than half the world's population and 40% of its economic output, Lula noted in remarks on Saturday to business leaders warning of rising protectionism.

The BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as members. This is the first summit of leaders to include Indonesia.

"The vacuum left by others ends up being filled almost instantly by the BRICS," said a Brazilian diplomat who asked not to be named. Although the G7 still concentrates vast power, the diplomat added, "it doesn't have the predominance it once did."