Erdoğan pledges continued aid for Gaza's recovery

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Türkiye will maintain its support for Gaza’s reconstruction, stressing that Ankara would not lower its guard despite a newly reached ceasefire.

"We are working intensively to ensure that the agreement reached between Hamas and Israel is permanent and lays the groundwork for lasting peace. However, due to Israel's poor track record, we are not letting our guard down," Erdoğan said on Oct. 17 at an event in Istanbul.

His comments came days after a declaration signed on Oct. 13 in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh by U.S. President Donald Trump and regional leaders, aimed at securing a long-sought truce in Gaza.

"Gaza needs to heal its wounds and get back on its feet quickly, and we will continue to do whatever is necessary for this," Erdoğan said.

The president criticized Western countries for what he described as their indifference to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

"During Israel's two-year campaign of attacks, 68,000 Palestinians were martyred and more than 170,000 of our friends were wounded. More than 20,000 children died, some from starvation," he said.

"No one knows how many innocent bodies lie beneath the rubble. A genocide has been taking place for two years before the eyes of all humanity, and the so-called civilized world failed to prevent it and did not respond properly."

Erdoğan also accused countries "trying to lecture Türkiye on democracy" of supplying weapons to Israel "while the genocide was ongoing."

Türkiye is set to take part in an international peace mission in Gaza under the recently brokered ceasefire. Preparations for the task force were ongoing in coordination with other state institutions, Defense Ministry sources told reporters earlier this week.

Under the plan, Israel will partially withdraw from Gaza, to be replaced by an international force coordinated by a U.S.-led command center, with troops from Türkiye, Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Ankara has appointed diplomat Mehmet Güllüoğlu as the Palestinian Humanitarian Aid Coordinator to oversee relief operations in Gaza and liaise with local authorities and international partners.

Erdoğan, a vocal defender of the Palestinians, has frequently accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of committing "genocide" in the enclave.

Since the conflict erupted in October 2023, Türkiye has taken steps to cut trade with Israel. In April, Ankara banned exports of more than 1,000 products to Israel and later imposed a full suspension of exports, imports and transit trade across all categories.