Cuba raises Gaza during COP28 address, says ‘peace is necessary to save the planet’

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - The president of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel, expressed at the COP28 conference in Dubai his rejection of the escalation of violence unleashed by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

"Let me begin by reminding you that, just over two thousand kilometers from here, in Gaza, a genocide is occurring," Diaz Canel said on Friday. "On behalf of Cuba, we categorically condemn the escalation of violence and terror unleashed against the inhabitants of that strip of land in occupied Palestine; peace is necessary to save the planet."

The Israeli army resumed bombing the Gaza Strip on Friday after blaming Hamas for breaking the ceasefire, declaring an end to a weeklong humanitarian pause with the Palestinian militant group, Hamas. At least 178 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds have been injured Friday in Israeli airstrikes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The death toll from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has reached 15,207 since the beginning of the conflict on Oct. 7, the Palestinian Authority has confirmed.

In his speech, the Cuban president also said that although reversing the climate crisis is "everyone's task, only developed nations are in a position to achieve the most ambitious reductions in their emissions."

"The most developed countries continue to encourage their extraction of fossil fuels. They even speak of a doubling of their production and consumption by 2030. These realities seriously undermine the climate of trust that should prevail among nations. Humanity's right to exist must be the primary motivation for our discussions," he said.

He said that "although Cuba contributes less than 0.1% of global emissions," the country is "committed to creating a low-carbon development model" despite, he said, the severe sanctions imposed on the island.

"We will do it, despite the limitations imposed on us by the intensified blockade of the United States government."

This is Díaz-Canel's first official visit to the UAE.