A major humanitarian nongovernmental organization (NGO) mobilized large crowds across Türkiye on Sunday for a pro-Palestinian rally. Held under the motto “Gaza Is Dying! Stand Up!” the marches sought to condemn Israel’s massacre of Palestinians in the enclave.
Several other NGOs, including the Youth Foundation of Türkiye (TÜGVA), joined the rallies organized by Humanitarian Aid Foundation (IHH).
In the country’s most populated city, Istanbul, hundreds gathered at Beyazıt Square in the afternoon, marching toward Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, a central gathering point. Demonstrators waved Turkish and Palestinian flags and shouted “Killer Israel, Get Out of Palestine.”
The rally follows countless others that have been held since the Palestine-Israel conflict escalated again in 2023.
The Turkish public and government are major supporters of the Palestinian cause and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan himself joined an enormous rally for Gaza in 2023 while his son Bilal Erdoğan, who serves as a member of High Advisory Board of TÜGVA, was among thousands attending a pro-Palestine rally at the heart of Istanbul on New Year’s Day.
Türkiye has been a traditional ally to Palestine, but as the Israeli attacks became more brutal, the harsher Ankara has become in its criticism in the past year. It has condemned what it calls genocide, halted all trade with Israel and applied to join a genocide case against Israel at the World Court, which Israel rejects. In addition to delivering humanitarian aid, Türkiye has sought to rally international organizations, including the United Nations, NATO and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to restrain Israel.
On April 18, Istanbul will host a meeting of parliamentarians supporting Palestine. The meeting is part of an initiative led by Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş to rally parliaments endorsing Palestinians against the Israeli oppression. The Parliament Speaker’s Office said on Sunday that the meeting would provide a cooperation and consultation platform for parliamentary diplomacy on the matter. President Erdoğan is also expected to address the meeting, which will focus on cooperation on helping the Palestinian cause, raising awareness of the basic rights of Palestinians. Parliamentary speakers and lawmakers from 12 countries are expected to attend the meeting.
More than 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have so far been killed in Israel’s attacks, according to the Health Ministry there, which says more than half of the dead are women and children.
Israel's defense minister said that military activity would rapidly expand across Gaza and that people would have to evacuate from “fighting zones.” Israel also announced Saturday the completion of the Morag corridor, cutting off the southern city of Rafah from the rest of Gaza, with the military saying it would soon expand “vigorously” in most of the small coastal territory.
Israeli authorities have vowed to pressure Hamas, which controls Gaza, to release the remaining 59 hostages, 24 believed to be alive, and accept proposed new cease-fire terms.
On Sunday, Israel struck Al-Ahli, one of the last remaining functioning hospitals in the enclave. The director of the hospital, Dr. Fadel Naim, said they were warned of the attack before it was struck. In a post on X, he wrote that the emergency room, pharmacy and surrounding buildings were severely damaged, impacting more than 100 patients and dozens of medical staff.
The Health Ministry said the strike destroyed the ward for outpatients and laboratories and damaged the emergency ward.
Images of the aftermath showed the hospital's caved-in cement roof, surrounded by debris. Dr. Munir al-Boursh, the Health Ministry's director general, called the evacuation frightening, with people carried out into the streets in hospital beds.
“It was very scary for the patients ... we did not know what happened,” he said. The Health Ministry said the hospital was temporarily out of service and that patients have since been transferred to three other hospitals in Gaza City, including Shifa, Al-Quds and the Red Crescent Field Hospital.
The aid group Medical Aid for Palestinians said this was the fifth attack on the hospital since the war began. It's the last major hospital providing critical health care in northern Gaza.
Medical facilities often come under fire in wars, but combatants usually depict such incidents as accidental or exceptional, since hospitals enjoy special protection under international law. In its 18-month campaign in Gaza, Israel has stood out by carrying out an open campaign on hospitals, besieging and raiding them, some several times, as well as hitting multiple others in strikes while accusing Hamas of using them as cover for its fighters.
