Gaza in much worse condition than 1945 Berlin: Chilean president

BOGOTA, Colombia

The Gaza Strip is now in a much worse condition than Berlin was in 1945, Chilean President Gabriel Boric said on Monday.

Visiting Guatemala to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Bernardo Arevalo, Boric told reporters that a cease-fire was an urgent need of time.

“Gaza is in a much worse condition than Berlin was in 1945,” he said, referring to the Fall of Berlin post-World War II.

“Almost all houses have been destroyed and 1.5 million people do not have any place to sleep, they are running out of food,” he added.

“Nearly 200 Palestinians lose their lives every day in Gaza. This massacre has to be stopped now,” he said.

“The solution to the problem between Israel and Palestine lies in the political dialogue,” he further said, adding: “Two-state solution based on mutual borders will end this problem.”

In November, Boric recalled his ambassador to Tel Aviv for consultations due to the ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza.

Chile, which hosts the largest Palestinian community outside the Arab geography with a population of about 500,000 Palestinians, recognized Palestine as a "free, independent and sovereign state" in 2011.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas which Tel Aviv says killed 1,200 people.

At least 24,100 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 60,834 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

According to the UN, 85% of the population of Gaza is already internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure is damaged or destroyed.

*Writing by Merve Berker in Ankara