Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday warned the recent developments in the Middle East should “not lead the international community to ignore the genocide being committed by Israel in Gaza.”
Israeli attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure have intensified in recent days and hundreds of innocent Palestinians have been massacred in attacks on school buildings and refugee camps, the ministry said in a statement.
It said Israel’s use of starvation and infectious diseases as a weapon against the Palestinian people by preventing the provision of basic humanitarian needs in Gaza should not escape the attention of the international community.
“As Türkiye, we want peace, security and stability to prevail throughout our region,” it said. “We reiterate our call for the necessary pressure to be exerted on Israel to ensure an immediate cease-fire agreement and uninterrupted humanitarian access to the region.”
While the international community has been shocked by the overthrowing of Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad last Sunday, Israel continued its war on the Gaza Strip unabated.
At least 32 Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes across the enclave on Tuesday.
Since Oct. 5, Israel has launched a large-scale ground operation in northern Gaza to allegedly prevent Palestinian resistance group Hamas from regrouping. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.
Since then, no sufficient humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and fuel, was allowed into the area, leaving the remaining population there on the verge of imminent famine.
The onslaught was the latest episode in a brutal Israeli war on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 45,000 people, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.
On Nov. 21, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its war on Gaza.