The Itamaraty, Brazil’s Foreign Relations Ministry, has confirmed the death of a Brazilian Hezbollah fighter during an attack by Israeli military forces in Lebanon.
Ibrahim Saleh, 17, was killed on Tuesday, August 1st, but the official information about his death was only released today, August 5. There are no details on how the death occurred.
Saleh becomes the eighth Brazilian victim of the Israeli war against Lebanon. The youngster was born and got his birth certificate and passport in Brazil, but he moved to Lebanon early on and was raised there.
The Brazilian embassy in Beirut informed that it wasn’t contacted by the family of Saleh’s after his death. They also told reporters that the only connection of the young man with Brazil was through Brazilian relatives with whom he was still in touch.
Ambassador Everton Vieira Vargas, who coordinates the Brazilian assistance in Lebanon, confirmed Saleh’s death. But he refused to comment when a reporter asked if the Brazilian government considered the young fighter a terrorist.
"I am not going to use adjectives. He is a Brazilian, period. He simply increases a sad statistic of Brazilians killed during this tragedy that befell Lebanon. I believe any commitment undertaken by a person under a political view is obviously first of all an individual decision."