Both the genocide in Gaza and the Israel-Iran conflict are rapidly approaching a point of no return, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday, criticizing Israel’s continued attacks on Gaza and the region.

“It is imperative that hands are taken off triggers in the Israel-Iran conflict before there is more destruction and civilian casualties,” the president said, speaking at the youth forum of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul.

Türkiye did not change its stance but continued to support the oppressed despite the Zionist lobbies’ attacks against the Turkish government and myself, he added.

“Israel, which complains about damage to its hospitals today, has so far carried out over 700 attacks on health care facilities in Gaza alone,” Erdoğan said, reminding that Gaza has been enduring “one of the most shameful acts of modern-day barbarism for 21 months.”

 

 

Erdoğan said: “The Islamic world is going through a difficult period, with war, conflict, instability casting a shadow over its entire geography.”

The Turkish president said the Netanyahu government is primarily responsible for the Gaza genocide, while those who stay silent in the face of these massacres are accomplices to his crimes.

“Those turning Gaza into the world’s largest concentration camp, speaking of war crimes, is not only inconsistent but shows shamelessness and impudence,” Erdoğan continued. “People standing in food distribution lines in Gaza for a piece of bread, a bowl of soup, are being brutally targeted.” He said that powers having influence over Israel “should not fall into Netanyahu’s game,” and should use their influence to establish a cease-fire and calm in the region.

Hostilities broke out last Friday when Israel launched airstrikes on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.

 

 

Israeli authorities said at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds injured since then in Iranian missile attacks.

Meanwhile, in Iran, 639 people have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded in the Israeli assault, according to Iranian media reports.

NATO member Türkiye has been a traditional ally to Palestine, but the more brutal Israeli attacks became, the harsher Ankara has made its criticism. It has condemned what it calls genocide, halted all trade with Israel and applied to join a genocide case against Israel at the World Court, which Israel rejects.

In addition to delivering humanitarian aid, the Turkish government has sought to rally international organizations, including the United Nations, NATO and the OIC, to both restrain Israel and encourage cooperation between Palestinian factions, most notably between Hamas and the Fatah movement.