"We are the only country that has shown the strongest reaction to the massacres in Gaza since 7 October and has taken concrete measures against Israel."
This was stated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Justice and Development Party (AKP) ruling party's consultation and assessment meeting in Ankara, the newspaper “Sabah” reported.
Turkey suspended trade transactions with Israel, first on 54 items and then on all items, he added.
Noting that Turkey "stands by the side of the heroic people of Palestine" who defend their homeland, he stressed that his country does not hesitate to wing the Palestinian resistance.
Erdogan also welcomed the Turkish parliament's decision to condemn the Israeli massacres in Rafah, describing this decision as "extremely valuable".
On the situation in Palestine, he said Turkey had sent more than 55,000 tons of humanitarian aid to the region.
On 26 May, Israel carried out an air strike on a displaced persons camp in Rafah, killing at least 45 people, mostly women and children.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive in Gaza since the Hamas attack on 7 October, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.
Since then, some 36,400 Palestinians have died in Gaza, the majority of them women and children, and more than 82,000 others have been injured, according to local health authorities.
Nearly 8 months after the start of the Israeli war, huge parts of Gaza are in ruins amid a devastating blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel has been accused of genocide before the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before the May 6 invasion. | BGNES
