İmamoğlu criticizes gov't response to Gaza crisis

ISTANBUL

Jailed Istanbul mayor and opposition presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu has criticized the government’s handling of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling for a stronger political voice to address the humanitarian disaster.

"Unfortunately, the government has been ineffective during this process, unable to raise its voice sufficiently to stop the massacre and overcome different political concerns," İmamoğlu said in a post on X, shared from an account opened for his campaign.

İmamoğlu was arrested on March 23 in a corruption investigation, the same day he was announced as the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) presidential candidate for the next elections.

“The humanitarian tragedy in Gaza has now reached the level of famine, as confirmed by official reports. More than half a million innocent people are struggling with hunger, and hundreds of children are losing their lives,” he said.

“While aid trucks are held up at the border, the responsibility of children dying of hunger and those abandoned to disease and poverty lies on the shoulders of the entire world,” İmamoğlu added.

He called on both the government and opposition to act. “In the name of humanity, in the name of conscience and in the name of children's right to life, this call must be heeded,” he said.