Honduras’ government is recalling its ambassador to Israel for consultations due to the humanitarian situation affecting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the country’s top diplomat announced on social media on Friday.

The move comes after Chile’s Gabriel Boric and Colombia’s Gustavo Petro also recalled their countries’ ambassadors to Israel for consultations over events surrounding the conflict in Gaza, while Bolivia moved to sever diplomatic ties to Israel.

“Amid the grave humanitarian situation the Palestinian civilian population suffers in the Gaza Strip, the government of President Xiomara Castro has decided to immediately call Mr. Roberto Martinez, Ambassador of the Republic of Honduras in Israel, to consultations in Tegucigalpa,” Foreign Minister Enrique Reina said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Boric and Biden meet

Chilean President Gabriel Boric, who this week condemned Israeli military’s air bombardment of Gaza and recalled his envoy to Israel, on Thursday said he had told United States President Joe Biden that Israel’s actions were violating international law.

Boric said he condemned the October 7 attack on Israel by the Hamas militant group that killed 1,400 people, and called for the release of Israeli hostages, but added Israel’s retaliatory bombardment of Gaza had been disproportionate and was violating international law.

“These Hamas attacks are without justification, they deserve global condemnation, but the response by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government also deserves our clearest condemnation,” he told reporters after his meeting with Biden at the White House.

“There’s no doubt we can say the response has been disproportionate and is violating international humanitarian law,” he said. “The right of a state to defend itself has limits, and those limits imply respecting the lives of innocent civilians, especially children, and respecting civil humanitarian law.”

Asked about Biden’s response, Boric said it was not his place to speak for the American president.

The White House issued a statement later on Thursday that said Biden had “reaffirmed our continued efforts to urgently increase and sustain the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance – including food, water, and medical care – to civilians in Gaza.”

Biden is facing mounting pressure abroad and at home for failing to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, although the White House is now backing a series of “pauses” in the fighting to allow people to exit Gaza and aid to flow in.

Boric said he and Biden also discussed efforts to safeguard democracy in Latin America, and expressed his appreciation for Washington’s recent decision to lift sanctions on Venezuela.

–Reuters