Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has called for imposing an arms embargo on Israel, at the D-8 Summit in Egypt’s capital, Cairo.

This came as he addressed a summit of the Developing Eight Organization for Economic Cooperation (D-8), in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

The D-8 summit, titled “Investing in Youth and Supporting SMEs: Shaping Tomorrow’s Economy,” kicked off in Cairo on Thursday.

Aside calling for the arms embargo, Erdogan urged for the ending of trade with the country and isolating it internationally in order to hold it accountable for its actions in the region.

He added, “As Islamic countries, we must lead steps that can be taken against Israel,” stressing that a united stance was key for regional stability and peace.

Also at the summit, Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian called on Muslim-majority countries to unite to stop Israeli attacks in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.

Pezeshkian said the “brutal killings of civilians” in Gaza have “revealed new dimensions of terror”

“It is our religious, legal and humanitarian duty to take more practical and immediate actions to prevent further harm to our loved ones in crisis-stricken areas.”
Masoud Pezeshkian

Pezeshkian’s visit was the first by an Iranian president to Egypt in more than a decade, as relations between the two countries have long been strained.

Separately, Hamish Young, Senior Emergency Coordinator for UNICEF, who is currently in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.

He described the situation for children in the besieged and bombarded territory as “absolutely horrific”, citing the toll of about 15,000 children killed and the higher number of those wounded. “On top of that, without a doubt, every child in Gaza is suffering enormously from the psychological damage of the war, as well,” Young said.

He noted that it’s “really important” to recognise that “every child in Gaza” has lost a parent, or grandparent or a sibling “because the numbers can become overwhelming.”

“We’ve become numb to these numbers, but these are real small children.

“Just last week I was in Gaza City at a hospital with a young boy called Osama, who is 11 years old. He was out playing on the beach with his friends – it’s hard to think of anything more innocent than that – a blast went off, he was hit in the back of the head with shrapnel and now he’s a quadriplegic and on ventilator support. The suffering is just intolerable.”
Hamish Young

The D-8 group was established in Istanbul in 1997 to strengthen economic and social relations among its member states — Türkiye, Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Iran, and Malaysia. Azerbaijan also joined the group on Thursday.

Full UN Membership Key To Regional De-Escalation

President Mahmoud Abbas said while addressing the D-8 summit in Cairo that full Palestinian membership at the UN is the key to security and stability in the Middle East.

Abbas said that the Palestinian people are facing daily Israeli massacres, starvation and attempts to forcibly displace them.

“This requires the immediate implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2735 demanding a ceasefire, the entry of aid, full withdrawal from Gaza and Palestine assuming its responsibilities in the Strip.

“Achieving security and stability in the region requires Palestine to obtain full membership in the UN and more international recognition of the Palestinian state.”
Mahmoud Abbas