Turkey condemns Israeli block on Gaza aid, vows to take new measures
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As part of its genocidal campaign on the Strip, the Israeli regime has been enforcing an aid blockade in order to starve the population to death.
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Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan arrives for joint statements with his Romanian counterpart Luminita-Teodora Odobescu in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024 (AP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday condemned "Israel's" rejection of Turkey's request to airdrop aid into Gaza, vowing that Ankara will take new measures against the regime.
"Today we learned that our request... was rejected by Israel. There is no excuse for Israel to block our attempt to airlift aid to starving Gazans," Fidan said.
"We decided to take a series of new measures against Israel."
As part of its genocidal campaign on the Strip, the Israeli regime has been enforcing an aid blockade weaponizing hunger.
The Health Ministry in Gaza has already reported multiple instances of deaths associated with starvation in recent weeks.
Charities and NGOs who have been working to deliver aid have also complained of systematic targeting by Israeli forces.
Read more: NGOs decry lack of security amid systematic attacks by Israeli forces
On March 31, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi told his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that "Israel does not abide by any international law or charter,” including the recent UNSC resolution demanding a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, “which reflects the brutal nature of this usurping entity."
In this context, he called for "strengthening cooperation between Islamic countries in the course of protecting the residents of Gaza."
There is a necessity to "bring together the efforts of the Islamic countries under the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other institutions concerned with Muslim affairs for the sake of supporting the Palestinian people," and the Muslim Ummah expects its leaders “to take decisive and deterrent measures to stop the crimes of the Zionists in Palestine,” Raisi said.
On April 2, the Turkish president's office rebuked media allegations of Turkey purportedly asking "Israel" to return ambassadors after they were recalled late last year.
The administration released a statement explaining that the Israeli media claim of Turkish officials citing they "want to improve relations with Israel is untrue."
The statement detailed that Turkey made no such proposals.
