President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan criticized Western countries for their complicity and continued silence as Israel committed war crimes by blocking access to food, water and electricity in Gaza, violating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Speaking at the Türkiye Youth Foundation (TÜGVA) meeting in Ankara on Thursday, Erdoğan said the West, especially the U.S., has chosen to fan the flames rather than de-escalate tensions in Gaza.
He hit out at Washington for sending a warship to the region, saying, “What is an American aircraft carrier doing in Israel? Is it befitting for a country like the U.S. to restore peace or to add fuel to the fire?”
Erdoğan noted that it is inhumane of Israel to cut off access to water, electricity, fuel and food for 2 million Palestinians living in an area of 360 square kilometers (139 square miles) and that it violates the law of war.
“We do not want conflicts to spread to our region; instead of blindly supporting someone, we call on influential actors to reduce tension,” Erdoğan said Thursday.
Since the crisis broke out, Türkiye has consistently called for restraint from all sides, leading phone call diplomacy to solve through dialogue, he noted.
“Our Foreign Minister (Hakan Fidan) and intelligence chief (Ibrahim Kalın) continue speaking with their counterparts. We’re trying to see what we can do about sending humanitarian aid through the Rafah border crossing, but they bombed that, as well,” Erdoğan lamented.
Western nations don’t fret about getting food and water to Palestinians there, as per the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but Türkiye does, he added.
A day after Erdoğan's remarks, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austrin visited Israel and pledged to deploy more assets to help the Middle Eastern nation. "We've augmented U.S. fighter aircraft squadrons in the Middle East, and the U.S. Department of Defence stands fully ready to deploy additional assets, if necessary," he said alongside Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at a news conference in Israel.
On Friday, the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) confirmed a Turkish military plane with humanitarian supplies and donations for Palestinians in Gaza arrived in Egypt.
It did not say what supplies were included in the aid, but state broadcaster TRT Haber reported that the shipment included food and medical supplies, adding it would be carried into Gaza via the Rafah crossing.
“There is no sense in stopping aid for the Palestinian people,” Erdoğan said. “It’s obvious ignoring the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Gaza will not serve peace and every step that doesn’t serve peace serves war.”
Disproportionate violence will only cause more violence, pain, destruction and instability, which is exactly what is currently unfolding in Gaza, the president added, stressing that there was “no explanation” for “the massacre of the people of Gaza.”
Slamming Israel for “trapping Palestine into a tiny strip of land since 1947,” Erdoğan reiterated that an independent Palestinian state must be established with the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“No matter how painful the consequences are, no action can justify such cruelty. What separates states and (terrorist) organizations is the commitment to international law and humanitarian values. States are obligated to adhere to the law of war and human rights, but we see this line rapidly diminishing,” Erdoğan said.
“Türkiye will manage this crisis with the cool-headed sensitivity and foresight of our state’s thousands of years old experience without allowing our emotions to cloud our policies,” he concluded.
The conflict in Gaza began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood – a multipronged surprise attack – against Israel, including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations via land, sea and air, which Hamas said was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.
In response to Hamas’ actions, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.
Israel also cut off water and electricity supplies to Gaza, worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.
More than 2,700 people have been killed since the outbreak of the conflict on Oct. 7, including over 1,400 Palestinians and 1,300 Israelis.
Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz on Thursday said electricity, water and fuel will not be provided to Gaza until all its hostages were freed.
Türkiye has offered to mediate in the unprecedented clashes between Israel and Hamas, which urged Gaza residents not to heed an Israeli warning to relocate south on Friday ahead of an expected ground invasion that risks high casualties.
Repeating a comment he had made previously, Erdoğan told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in a call on Friday that the human rights violations against civilians in Gaza were unacceptable and that Ankara was working to get aid to Gaza.
A senior Turkish official said that this week, Ankara was holding talks with Hamas about releasing civilian prisoners.
