‘People of Gaza are still searching for their loved ones’: Erdogan

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused ‘Israel’ of carrying out “state terror” in Gaza and said at least 74,000 people had been killed over the past three years.
• He criticized the United Nations for failing to prevent the crisis, while describing Gaza as a place of extreme suffering for children and civilians.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a sharp condemnation of the situation in the Gaza Strip during his address to the United Nations General Assembly, accusing the international community of failing to respond to what he described as a genocidal mindset.

“We are faced with a genocidal mindset that can never get enough of killing,” Erdogan said in translated remarks, describing the situation in Gaza as “extremely serious.”

He said no person guided by “humanity, mercy, or compassion” and justice could remain indifferent to the suffering of Palestinians.

Erdogan told the General Assembly that at least 74,000 people had been killed in Gaza by the ‘Israeli’ military over the past three years, describing the actions as “state terror.”

“The people of Gaza are still searching for their loved ones under the rubble,” Erdogan said. “They are recovering the bodies of their spouses, their children, or their parents.”

He said the scale of destruction had left Palestinians searching for relatives among the ruins and facing continued humanitarian hardship.

Erdogan highlighted the impact of the war on children in Gaza, saying he was speaking “as a father and as a grandfather who cherishes his children and grandchildren.”

“I have to say the following from this podium with a heavy heart: today, Gaza is not only the world’s largest graveyard for children, it is also the place with the highest rate of child amputations in the world,” he said.

Erdogan further described Gaza as “the most inhuman and shameful concentration camp of our time.”

The Turkish president also used his address to criticize the United Nations, saying the organization had failed to fulfill the mission for which it was established 81 years ago.

He said the Gaza crisis demonstrated that the UN was either no longer capable of maintaining international peace and security or had been “rendered unable to do so.”

Erdogan added that people in Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan and other areas affected by conflict who had placed their hopes in the UN were “deeply disappointed.”

His remarks were met with applause from delegates, including Palestinian officials attending the session. The ‘Israeli’ delegation walked out during the speech.