Turkish students decry Israel's Gaza attacks in multilingual video
Palestinians stand above debris after Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, Nov. 7, 2023. (AFP Photo)


Students from two Turkish universities adopted a novel method to convey their outrage over Israel's ongoing military attacks on civilians in the Gaza Strip, creating a video featuring messages in multiple languages and sharing it on social media platforms.

Students from Galatasaray University and the Turkish-German University in Istanbul expressed their feelings about Israel's attacks in Gaza in a video they created in Turkish, French and German.

The students shared the video via their educational institutions' social media accounts.

In the video, students described the Israeli attacks on Gaza in messages such as "Don't stop talking about Palestine," "The ones dying are not just people but humanity," "Humanity is being ignored, bombed and killed," "In the 21st century, Gaza is being besieged in front of the world's eyes," "People are left without food, water, medicine and electricity," as well as "Israel, the baby killer, uses white phosphorus bombs considered a war crime."

Earlier, students from Galatasaray University's Civilization Club organized an exhibition depicting Israel's attacks on Gaza.

The exhibition, which included photos, maps, cartoons and explanations about Gaza, was held at the Soma Tunnel on campus and featured 46 visuals.

Speaking about the exhibition, Esma Yılmaz, a student in the International Relations department, said their club aimed to express their solidarity with the oppressed people in Palestine.

"The primary goal of our exhibition, consisting of 46 visuals, is to emphasize that the Israel-Palestine issue is not a recent development, but rather, Israel's occupation policy, unjust detentions and incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque have been ongoing for years, and this process did not start on Oct. 7," said Yılmaz.

Anger and support

Türkiye consistently denounces Israel's relentless attacks on Palestine and expresses unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people, with the Turkish public actively demonstrating their support. Recently, the Turkish nongovernmental organization (NGO) Humanitarian Relief Fund (IHH) organized a convoy to demonstrate their support for Palestine amid Israel's persistent attacks on the Gaza Strip, heading to the U.S. base in the country's southeast.

The "Freedom Convoy for Palestine," consisting of 250 vehicles adorned with Turkish and Palestinian flags, departed Friday from Istanbul to Incirlik Air Base in Adana. On Sunday, the convoy protested Israel's attacks on Palestine in front of Incirlik Air Base in the southeastern city of Adana, where a number of U.S. forces are stationed.

Numerous NGOs and individuals across Türkiye assembled under the leadership of the IHH gathered in front of the air base. Participants chanted slogans against Israel and expressed their outrage over the attacks on Gaza. The police stepped in when some protesters broke the barricades, trying to enter the air base.

Israel has repeatedly urged Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza to head south as fighting intensified, spurring fears of mass displacement.

The Israeli army this week expanded its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since a surprise offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 10,000 Palestinians, mostly children and women, have been killed in Israeli attacks since then, while the Israeli death toll has topped 1,500, according to official figures.