First lady urges Melania Trump to speak out on Gaza

ANKARA

Türkiye's first lady wrote to her U.S. counterpart, Melania Trump, on Aug. 23, asking her to show the same concern for Gaza's children as she has shown for those of Ukraine.

Emine Erdoğan asked Donald Trump's spouse to write to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show mercy to Gaza's children.

"I have faith that the important sensitivity you have shown for the 648 Ukrainian children who have lost their lives in the war will be extended to Gaza as well, where, in the span of two years, 62,000 innocent civilians, including 18,000 children, have been brutally killed," Türkiye's first lady wrote.

"As a mother, as a woman, and as a human being, I deeply share the sentiments expressed in your letter, and I hope that you will give the same hope to the children of Gaza, who also yearn for peace and tranquillity."

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has tried to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine during the war, which is in its fourth year.

He accuses Israel of using hunger as a weapon in Gaza, saying the images coming from the Palestinian enclave were worse than "Nazi camps." The United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza on Aug. 22.

"Your compassion for the lives lost, families torn apart and children left orphaned under the devastating effects of the war in Ukraine is an initiative that instills hope in hearts," Emine Erdoğan said.

"The words 'unknown baby' written on the shrouds of thousands of Gazan children who have no one left behind them and whose names cannot even be identified are leaving irreparable wounds on our consciences."

The children "driven into deep psychological ruin and having completely forgotten how to smile, scream into microphones that they want to die, carrying the exhaustion of a war they cannot cope with in their innocent hearts," she added.

"At a time when the world is experiencing a collective awakening and the recognition of Palestine is turning into a global will, I believe that a call from you on behalf of Gaza will also fulfill a historic responsibility to the Palestinian people."