President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached a critical point, urging concrete steps to pressure Israel into a cease-fire and a two-state solution, as he welcomed the latter's recent remarks on Palestine, the Presidential Communications Directorate said.
In a phone call, Erdoğan said it is a duty to humanity to move beyond merely voicing concern over the crisis.
He noted that Türkiye continues to send humanitarian aid to Gaza and supports mediators’ efforts to secure a cease-fire and advance negotiations.
The president also congratulated Starmer for his recent remarks on recognizing the State of Palestine.
Pressure to formally recognize Palestinian statehood has mounted since French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country will become the first major Western power to recognize a Palestinian state in September.
More than 250 of the 650 lawmakers in the House of Commons have signed a letter urging the government to recognize a Palestinian state.
More than 140 countries recognize a Palestinian state, including a dozen in Europe. Macron's announcement last week make France is the first Group of Seven country and the largest European nation to take that step.
Gaza's 2.3 million residents face an unfolding humanitarian nightmare marked by widespread hunger, shortages of water, medicine and hygiene supplies due to Israel's ongoing blockade and atrocities.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, starvation has claimed more than 145 lives, including 88 children, in Gaza, where local and international observers accuse Israel of weaponizing hunger and thirst.
Israeli forces have destroyed 88% of Gaza's civilian infrastructure and regularly bomb displaced Palestinians forced from their homes by repeated orders of expulsion.
More than two million Palestinians have been displaced multiple times, living in makeshift tents or overcrowded shelters lacking proper sanitation, where infectious diseases spread.
Daily Israeli airstrikes continue to target these vulnerable populations' shelters and civilian centers.
Israel's assaults have killed more than 60,000 Palestinians and injured over 146,260, according to local health authorities.
