The Turkish Parliament will hold a conference on the situation of Gaza’s civilian population, with a focus on women and children, on Wednesday under the leadership of Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş.
Calls will be made regarding human rights violations, killed journalists as well as newborns, children and women. Kurtulmuş’s spouse, Sevgi Kurtulmuş, lawmakers, and representatives from public institutions, universities, media and abroad will also participate in the conference.
Palestinian students studying at universities in Ankara and who lost family members in the attacks in Gaza and Palestinian doctors will also attend the conference.
Palestine’s Women Affairs Minister Amal Hamad, Palestine National Council member Dalal Salameh and Ghassan Abu Sittah, a doctor from Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, will also contribute via video messages.
Months of intense bombardment and clashes have left Gaza’s health system on the brink of collapse, with most hospitals no longer functioning and nearly 2 million people displaced.
Aid charities have sounded the alarm about an “apocalyptic” situation in Gaza after more than two months of war between Israel and Palestine, warning of starvation and an outbreak of disease.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has said the risk of “famine” is high, while the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned civilization was collapsing in Gaza.
The war was triggered by a deadly Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7 into southern Israel in which the group killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Since then, Israel has launched a punishing air and ground campaign that has killed more than 17,700 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the territory.
The Turkish Parliament has been working to raise awareness of Israel’s crimes against civilians in Gaza since the conflict started. All political parties with a parliamentary group condemned Israel’s attacks in two separate joint declarations. At the same time, Türkiye is working to send all kinds of humanitarian aid to those in need in Gaza.
