Palestinian Death Toll Reaches 33,600, President Erdogan: Israel Will Pay For Cruelty In Gaza
JAKARTA - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed Israel would pay for the atrocities they have committed over the past six months in the Gaza Strip, when the death toll of Palestinians in the region broke through 33,600.
Turkish Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said on Friday President Erdogan said this during a phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
According to Altun, President Erdogan assured President Abbas that Turkey would continue to stand firm against Israel's "barbaric attack" in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave under Israel's 17-year illegal blockade, as well as months of relentless Israeli attacks, killing tens of thousands of people, mostly women and children.
"The president has underlined that any means, including UN Security Council resolutions, must be deployed to reach a ceasefire. Israel needs to be fought with full solidarity," Tolun told Turkey's state television station, TRT Haber, as reported by Daily Sabah on April 12.
President Erdogan has been one of Israel's hardest critics since the start of the war in Gaza and staunch defenders of the Palestinian struggle, including holding talks with Palestinian officials, Israel and Hamas.
The Turkish leader has expressed full support for Hamas, rejecting the Western stance that classifies it as a terrorist organization.
He also called Israel a "terrorist state" and accused it of committing "genocide" in Gaza.
Separately, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported on Friday that the death toll of Palestinians as a result of Israeli attacks on the region had reached 33,634 people, with 89 people killed in the past 24 hours.
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The ministry also noted that about 76,214 people had been injured since the latest conflict broke out after the Hamas militant group attacked Israel's southern region on October 7.
Israel's attack on Gaza has caused 85 percent of the region's population to flee amid food, clean water and medicine shortages, while 60 percent of infrastructure in the enclave has been damaged or destroyed, according to the United Nations.