According to Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Israeli attacks on Gaza have long crossed the threshold of self-defence and have turned into open “oppression, brutality, a massacre and barbarism.”
He asserted that the international community’s silence is a “shame for humanity,” saying that Western countries are not adhering to international law because the blood spilled in Gaza is the “blood of Muslims.”
The Turkish President said that Western countries are providing unconditional support to Israel instead of calling for restraint.
“Nobody should expect Turkey to remain silent against the violence in Gaza that has seen more than 7,000 Palestinians killed,” he said.
“What more needs to happen in Gaza for the West to call for a ceasefire?” he queried.
Erdogan reiterated Turkey’s position that a permanent solution to the conflict can only be achieved through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Per the health ministry in Gaza’s report, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza now stands at 7,028, a figure that includes 2,913 children, 1,709 women and 397 elderly.
The ministry also reported that around 45 per cent of housing units have been completely and partially destroyed, around 219 educational facilities hit, including at least 29 UNRWA schools and an estimated 1.4 million people in Gaza are internally displaced.
Additionally, the Ministry stated that a total of 101 health personnel killed by Israeli strikes, more than 100 wounded, 50 ambulances were attacked and half of those are out of service and At least 130 neonates dependent on incubators are now at a risk of death due to lack of electricity.
U.S President, Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he had “no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using.”
Meanwhile, The Palestine Red Crescent Society announced on Thursday, October 26, 2023, that it has received 12 trucks at the Rafah border crossing from the Egyptian Red Crescent containing food, medicine and medical supplies.
So far, 74 trucks have been allowed to enter the Gaza Strip since the war began but no fuel has been included.
Battle Against “Gazan terror” To Take Years
Also on Thursday, Benny Gantz, an ex-general who joined Netanyahu’s war cabinet, suggested that Israeli efforts in Gaza will take years and go beyond a planned ground offensive in the enclave.
“The battle against Gazan terror will continue within the Strip’s territory – going deep, anywhere and at any time required to ensure security for the communities that will be restored and rebuilt in the [southern] region.
“The [ground] manoeuvre [in Gaza] will be but one stage of a long process that will include defensive, diplomatic and social aspects that will take years.”
Benny Gantz
Israel has promised to annihilate Hamas, which has the support of Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and various militias in Iraq.
Gantz also warned enemies of Israel other than Hamas that they, too, risked being destroyed.
“The danger of destruction will not be our destiny, but rather the fate of those who would do evil to us,” Gantz said.
Asked by reporters about assassinations abroad, Gantz replied, Israel “will hit Hamas wherever he is.”
Speaking to reporters in The Hague, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, said, “This time the war that Israel is waging is different. This time … it’s a war of revenge,” adding that Israel needs to agree to a full ceasefire in Gaza to allow urgently needed humanitarian aid to be brought in.
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