Turkiye accuses IOF of damaging Turkish-Palestinian Hospital in Gaza
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Ankara's Foreign Ministry says "the damage caused to the hospital by the Israeli forces and its use as a military base is part of Israel's systematic policy aimed at the annihilation of the Palestinian people."
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The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza in an undated image (Anadolu Ajansi)
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has called out "Israel" for frequent and systemic attacks on the Turkish Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza, which the occupation uses as a military base.
In a statement on Monday, the ministry said, "The photo in the Palestinian press showing a group of Israeli soldiers in front of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza is further evidence of Israel's violation of international law and international humanitarian law."
The statement further noted that the hospital is the "only center for cancer patients in Gaza."
"The damage caused to the hospital by the Israeli forces and its use as a military base is part of Israel's systematic policy aimed at the annihilation of the Palestinian people," Ankara's Foreign Ministry pointed out.
It reiterated its commitment "to work to ensure that those responsible for these attacks are brought to justice in international courts."
It is noteworthy that the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, the sole facility providing cancer treatment in the Gaza Strip, ceased its operations on November 1 due to a shortage of fuel caused by the Israeli genocidal war and total blockade on Gaza.
Read more: Destroying Gaza's healthcare system is a war crime: Foreign Policy
The hospital, which the Turkish government funds, is one of Palestine's major specialized medical institutions.
This comes mere days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Friday that efforts to collaborate with "Israel" within NATO are "not acceptable."
"It is not possible for the Israeli administration, which has trampled on the fundamental values ​​of our alliance, to continue its partnership relationship with NATO," he stressed during a press conference in Washington after the NATO leaders' summit.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Turkish President highlighted the ongoing Israeli "atrocities" in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in Gaza.
In mid-May, Erdogan said the Israeli occupation is conducting the same practices in Gaza employed by Nazi Germany in its wars and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has surpassed Adolf Hitler in his "genocidal methods".
Turkey declared it would suspend all trade with "Israel" amid the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, citing a "worsening humanitarian tragedy" in the Strip.
The Turkish Trade Ministry said the country "will apply these new measures... until the Israeli government authorizes an uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza."
