Turkish President Says Events in Gaza, Blatant Genocide

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan affirmed that what is happening in Gaza since October 7, is not war, rather a blatant genocide, adding that words are no longer sufficient to describe the massacre in Gaza. In his speech on Saturday, President Erdogan pointed to the death of nearly 40,000 innocent Palestinians, including 16,000 children, and the injury of around 90,000 others. He added that nearly three-quarters of Gaza has been turned into rubble due to direct Israeli attacks targeting civilian residential areas. The Turkish President said, "No principles, rules, or red lines of international humanitarian law were observed; in fact, they were intentionally violated." Erdogan added that as long as Israel seeks its security by occupying more land, no country in the region, including Turkiye, will feel completely safe. He stressed that Ankara is making intensive efforts to ensure a ceasefire in Gaza and pave the way for permanent peace. On another note, President Erdogan said that Turkiye has dealt a st rong blow to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), rendering it incapable of action within Turkiye and completely cornered in Iraq and Syria. Erdogan said Turkiye will soon close the lock in the anti-terrorist Operation Claw Zone in northern Iraq. "We will complete the missing links of the security belt along our southern border in Syria based on the territorial integrity of Syria." the Turkish President added. Erdogan stressed Ankara's determination not to tolerate any structure posing a threat to the country along the Iraqi and Syrian borders. Source: Qatar News Agency