Member of the European Parliament, Manu Pineda, speaks to reporters in front of the Khiam detention center, Khiam, South Lebanon, October 26, 2023. (Screengrab)

"Israel" murders children, women, and journalists in Gaza and its aggression on the Strip is a "war crime", member of the European Parliament and chair of the delegation for relations with Palestine, Manu Pineda, told reporters today in South Lebanon.

Pineda held a press conference outside the Khiam detention center where he declared his support to the Palestinian people.

The detention center was operated by Israeli occupation forces and their collaborators in South Lebanon. Israeli occupation forces detained, abused, and tortured locals and Resistance fighters within the facility. It was only on May 25, 2000, that detainees were released from the complex after residents of South Lebanon rushed toward it following the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

Pineda said, "You are a very important people [the Lebanese] to Palestine and its just cause," adding that "the Israeli aggression is a war crime and the [international community] should make Israel pay the price."

The MEP stressed that October 7 came in response to the continued aggression that the Israeli occupation practiced against the Palestinian people for decades.

He also added that international law legitimizes the right to self-defense against aggression and the right to resist occupation, underlining that this is in fact what happened on October 7.

Pineda drew a comparison between what Jewish communities experienced in Western Europe during World War II and what Palestinians are being subjected to nowadays, underscoring that "what Israel is doing in Gaza is a holocaust of the Palestinian people."

The European official reiterated that this is not a "religious war, but a war between good and evil."

Standing at a point that overlooks parts of the occupied Golan, as well as occupied Palestinian and Lebanese territories, Pineda said, "From here we send a message to the entire world to support the Palestinian people, and whoever remains silent is an accomplice."

The European lawmaker highlighted the popular support that Palestine has garnered from people all over the world, who took to the streets to demonstrate against the Israeli aggression on Gaza.

He then stressed that "Palestine will come out victorious," adding that the Palestinian people are not alone, urging everyone to support their just cause to the best of their capabilities.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health in Gaza said the number of Palestinians martyred by the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has risen to 7,028, including 2,913 children and 1,709 women, in addition to 18,484 injuries.

Furthermore, the Ministry said it had received reports of at least 1,650 missing people, including 940 children, under the rubble.