Expressing concern over the Israel-Palestine conflict, leaders of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) on Friday condemned all attacks targeting civilians in Gaza.
“We call for an immediate cease-fire to protect civilians and allow provisions of urgent humanitarian aid through the Gaza Strip,” the bloc said in a joint declaration following the 10th summit of their heads of state in the Kazakh capital of Astana.
The OTS is an international organization comprised of prominent independent Turkic countries that work together to elevate relations and the union among themselves.
The OTS originally emerged as a summit between the heads of Turkic states in 1991 and eventually became an international council in 2009, holding over 10 summits so far.
Its members are Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, while Hungary, Turkmenistan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) have observer status.
The Israeli army has widened its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since the surprise offensive by Hamas on Oct. 7.
Nearly 10,800 people have been killed in the conflict, including at least 9,227 Palestinians, around half of whom are children, and more than 1,538 Israelis.
Israel has drawn international backlash for violating human rights with its indiscriminate and disproportionate targeting of residential places including schools, hospitals and places of worship in the blockaded city. It has also cut off access to food, water, power and internet in Gaza where humanitarian conditions are getting dire 25 days into the fighting.
