Israel to Be Held Accountable for Crimes Against Humanity

On Friday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Türkiye, stated that Israel will be held accountable for crimes against humanity committed against Palestinians in Gaza.

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"They will be held accountable for destroying tens of thousands of lives. Of course they will be held accountable for oppression," Erdogan said.

"And those who collaborate with this crime will be held accountable before history, first before humanity and then before their own conscience." 

"We are experiencing a catastrophe, a disgrace," the Turkish leader emphasized, referring to the Israeli bombings that have killed over 10,800 lives since October 7.

"Israel has been trying to build a state for 75 years on lands plundered from the Palestinian people," Erdogan recalled, highlighting that Zionist legitimacy "is being questioned due to its own fascism."

Turkey was one of the first countries to recognize Israel in 1949 and both states maintained a close political and military alliance until 2009, when Erdogan became spokesperson for the Palestinian cause.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced that a ship carrying the largest health aid that Türkiye has ever sent to the Gaza Strip set off on Friday.

A dry cargo ship carrying 51 containers of medical supplies and generators and 20 fully equipped ambulances left the port of Alsancak in the western province of Izmir.

"The aid is expected to arrive at Egypt's Al-Arish port on Saturday," Koca noted, adding that 500 tons of aid supplies included field hospitals with operating theatres and intensive care units, as well as medications and medical consumables to be used in these hospitals.

Koca said the field hospitals and ambulances in question would be deployed in Gaza or at points closest to the Egypt-Gaza border, adding that necessary coordination with the Egyptian Ministry of Health is ongoing on that matter. Türkiye has previously sent eight cargo planes consisting of health supplies to Gaza, the minister said.