Cuban president calls for end to 'genocide' in Gaza

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) – Cuba’s president has called on the international community to take action to end the "genocide" in Gaza.

Sharing a photo of the Palestinian flag being projected onto Jose Marti Memorial in the capital Havana, Miguel Diaz-Canel said late Saturday: "Cuba demands that the genocide stop now."

"As long as Palestinian land continues to be martyred, bled, destroyed to its foundations by the hatred of the Israeli occupier, we cannot tire of denouncing the crime and calling on the international community," Diaz-Canel wrote on X.

The president of the Caribbean island nation has been one of the leaders voicing the strongest opposition to Israel's months-long onslaught on Gaza and has consistently expressed his support for Palestine.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed.

More than 32,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, in addition to mass destruction, displacement, and famine conditions.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.