On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh held talks lasting more than two and a half hours in Istanbul. They discussed efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid there.
During the meeting with Hamas chief, Erdoğan stressed in his remarks: “Ankara continues its diplomatic efforts to draw the attention of the global community to the oppression faced by Palestinians. We have put a series of sanctions on Israel, including trade restrictions. Israel will inevitably, eventually pay the price for its oppression of Palestinians.”
Since last October, Türkiye has sent over 45,000 tons of aid to the conflict-hit Gaza Strip, Erdoğan said in a statement while referring to Ankara’s ongoing humanitarian aid to oppressed Palestinians.Amid Israeli tensions with Iran, Erdoğan stresses the need to prevent developments from benefiting Tel Aviv, to keep focus on the Gaza issue.
Erdoğan also urged Palestinians to unite amid Israel’s war in Gaza, following hours-long talks with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul.It is vital that Palestinians act with unity in this process. The strongest response to Israel and the path to victory lie in unity and integrity,” Erdoğan pointed out while concluding his comments.
Flouting the International Court of Justice’s provisional ruling, Israel continues its onslaught on the Gaza Strip where at least 34,049 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 76,901 injured since Oct. 7, according to Palestinian health authorities.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.Hostilities have continued unabated, however, and aid deliveries remain woefully insufficient to address the humanitarian catastrophe.