President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye will not bow down to pro-Israel lobbies, as he reiterated the country's solidarity with Palestine amid the ongoing humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip due to Israel's ruthless attacks.
"We're aware of who supports Israel and the lobbies behind them. We haven't yielded to these lobbies until now, and we won't in the future," said Erdoğan during an iftar program in Istanbul.
"Except for Türkiye and a few other countries, there is hardly any actor raising voice against Israel and its Western supporters," he stressed.
Alongside the Palestinian people, all the innocent people around the world have been witness to Türkiye's efforts, he said.
Hospitals and health workers, as well as places of worship, are deliberately targeted by occupying forces, in grave violation of international law in Gaza, Erdoğan pointed out.
"We do not take into account those who label our Palestinian brothers resisting oppression as terrorists," he added.
Erdoğan has been one of the most outspoken critics of Israel since the start of the war on Gaza, which began after Israel harshly retaliated to an Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian group Hamas in Israel that claimed at least 1,160 lives, according to Israel.
Israel has responded with a relentless ground and air offensive that the Health Ministry in Gaza said has killed at least 32,000 in the besieged Palestinian enclave, mostly women and children.
The Israeli war has also pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the United Nations.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
