Turkiye's Erdogan says Gazans must not die for ‘hunk of bread'
Erdogan's warning, made during a speech in Istanbul, came amid a mounting chorus of international criticism of Israel's campaign in Gaza, which has triggered a humanitarian crisis.
'No one endowed with a minimum of human dignity can accept this cruelty, in which dozens of innocent people die every day because they cannot find a hunk of bread or a mouthful of water,' he said.
Erdogan is a frequent critic of Israel but his declaration came as Israel faced several demands from United Nations agencies and international capitals to protect civilian lives and to allow aid into Gaza.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Israeli forces 'must stop killing people' at food distribution points, and UN rights chief Volker Turk warned Israel that it was possibly violating international law.
Gaza's civil defense agency said that Israeli strikes had killed 15 people in the Palestinian territory on Tuesday, after the World Health Organization said that troops had invaded its staff residence.
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Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
UN gathering eyes solution to deadlocked Palestinian question
UNITED NATIONS: Fired by France's imminent recognition of Palestinian statehood, UN members meet next week to breathe life into the push for a two-state solution as Israel, expected to be absent, presses its war in Gaza. Days before the July 28-30 conference on fostering Israeli and Palestinian states living peacefully side-by-side to be co-chaired by Riyadh and Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would formally recognize the State of Palestine in September. His declaration 'will breathe new life into a conference that seemed destined to irrelevance,' said Richard Gowan, an analyst at International Crisis Group. 'Macron's announcement changes the game. Other participants will be scrabbling to decide if they should also declare an intent to recognize Palestine.' According to an AFP database, at least 142 of the 193 UN member states — including France — now recognize the Palestinian state proclaimed by the Palestinian leadership in exile in 1988. In 1947, a resolution of the UN General Assembly decided on the partition of Palestine, then under a British mandate, into two independent states — one Jewish and the other Arab. The following year, the State of Israel was proclaimed, and for several decades, the vast majority of UN member states have supported the idea of a two-state solution: Israeli and Palestinian, living side-by-side peacefully and securely. But after more than 21 months of war in Gaza, the ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and senior Israeli officials declaring designs to annex occupied territory, it is feared a Palestinian state could be geographically impossible. The war in Gaza started following a deadly attack by Hamas on Israel, which responded with a large-scale military response that has claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives. The New York conference is a response to the crisis, with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and several dozen ministers from around the world expected to attend. The meeting comes as a two-state solution is 'more threatened than it has ever been (but) even more necessary than before, because we see very clearly that there is no alternative,' said a French diplomatic source. Beyond facilitating conditions for recognition of a Palestinian state, the meeting will have three other focuses — reform of the Palestinian Authority, disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from Palestinian public life, and normalization of relations with Israel by Arab states that have not yet done so. The diplomatic source warned that no announcement of new normalization deals was expected next week. Ahead of the conference, which was delayed from June, Britain said it would not recognize a Palestinian state unilaterally and would wait for 'a wider plan' for peace in the region. Macron has also not yet persuaded Germany to follow suit and recognize a Palestinian state in the short term. The conference 'offers a unique opportunity to transform international law and the international consensus into an achievable plan and to demonstrate resolve to end the occupation and conflict once and for all, for the benefit of all peoples,' said the Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour, calling for 'courage' from participants. Israel and the United States will not take part in the meeting. Israel's ambassador to the UN Danny Danon 'has announced that Israel will not be taking part in this conference, which doesn't first urgently address the issue of condemning Hamas and returning all of the remaining hostages,' according to embassy spokesman Jonathan Harounoff. As international pressure continues to mount on Israel to end nearly two years of war in Gaza, the humanitarian catastrophe in the ravaged coastal territory is expected to dominate speeches by representatives of more than 100 countries as they take to the podium from Monday to Wednesday. Gowan said he expected 'very fierce criticism of Israel.' abd-gw/aks
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Israel says it is considering alternatives to ceasefire talks with Hamas, deepening uncertainty
ICAIRO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday his government was considering 'alternative options' to ceasefire talks with Hamas after Israel and the US recalled their negotiating teams, throwing the future of the negotiations into further uncertainty. Netanyahu's statement came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic. Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating the talks alongside the United States, said the pause was only temporary and that talks would resume, though they did not say when. The teams left Qatar on Thursday as President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Hamas' latest response to proposals for a deal showed a 'lack of desire' to reach a truce. Witkoff said the US will look at 'alternative options,' without elaborating. In a statement released by his office, Netanyahu echoed Witkoff, saying, 'Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal.' 'Together with our US allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas's terror rule, and secure lasting peace for Israel and our region,' he said. He did not elaborate. Israel's government didn't immediately respond to whether negotiations would resume next week. Stall in talks comes as hunger worsens A breakthrough on a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has eluded the Trump administration as experts warn Gaza is being pushed closer to famine, after months of Israel entirely blocking food or letting in only limited amounts. This month, deaths related to malnutrition have accelerated. More then two dozen Western-aligned countries and more than 100 charity and human rights groups have called for an end to the war, harshly criticizing Israel's blockade and a new aid delivery model it has rolled out. The charities and rights groups said even their own staff were struggling to get enough food. On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would recognize Palestine as a state. 'The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved,' he said. Jordan has requested to carry out airdrops of aid into Gaza 'due to the dire situation,' a Jordanian official said. The official said the airdrops will mainly be food and milk formula. An Israeli security official said the military was coordinating the drops, which were expected in the coming days. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the yet-to-be-finalized plans. Desperate Palestinians gathered at a charity kitchen in Gaza City on Friday, clutching empty pots waiting for a share of watery lentil soup. Such kitchens distributing cooked meals have been a main source of food for many Palestinians, but the number of meals they produce every day has plummeted to 160,000 from more than a million in April, according to the UN 'We've been living three months without bread,' said one woman in line, Riham Dwas. 'We're relying on charity kitchens, surviving on a pot of lentils and there are many times when we don't even have that.' When she can't find food, she takes her children to a hospital to be put on saline IV drips for sustenance. Mourners carry the bodies of strike victims An Israeli airstrike hit a school-turned-shelter for displaced people in Gaza City, killing at least five people, including an 11-year-old boy, according to hospital officials. Afterwards, dozens of mourners marched carrying the bodies from Shifa Hospital as women nearby screamed and wept. 'Enough!' screamed Taraji Adwan, whose son and grandson were among the dead. She said the strike hit as she was filling up water jugs. 'Stop the war! Our children are dying from starvation, malnutrition, dehydration, lack of food, strikes, and dying from fear and destruction. Enough, Hamas! Enough, Israel! Enough, world!' she said. The Gaza Health Ministry said around 80 people were killed since Thursday night, mostly in strikes but including nine killed while seeking aid. Talks have struggled over issue of ending the war Hamas official Bassem Naim said Friday that the group was told that the Israeli delegation returned home for consultations and would return early next week to resume ceasefire negotiations. Hamas said that Witkoff's remarks were meant to pressure the group for Netanyahu's benefit during the next round of talks and that in recent days negotiations had made progress. Naim said several gaps had been nearly solved, such as the agenda of the ceasefire, guarantees to continue negotiating to reach a permanent agreement and how humanitarian aid would be delivered. In a joint statement, Egypt and Qatar also said progress had been made. 'It is a natural to pause talks to hold consultations before the resumption of the dialogue once more,' they said. The sides have held weeks of talks in Qatar, reporting small signs of progress but no major breakthroughs. Officials have said a main sticking point is the redeployment of Israeli troops from positions in Gaza after any ceasefire takes place. The deal under discussion is expected to include an initial 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Aid supplies would be ramped up, and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting ceasefire. The talks have been bogged down over competing demands for ending the war. Hamas says it will only release all hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal and end to the war. Israel says it will not agree to end the conflict until Hamas gives up power and disarms. The militant group says it is prepared to leave power but not surrender its weapons. Hamas is believed to be holding the hostages in different locations, including tunnels, and says it has ordered its guards to kill them if Israeli forces approach. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza but fewer than half are believed to be alive. Their families say the start-stop talks are excruciating. 'I thought that maybe something will come from the time that the negotiation, Israeli team were in Doha,' said Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod is being held hostage. 'And when I heard that they're coming back, I ask myself: When will this nightmare end?'
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
Gaza civil defense says Israeli forces kill 28 people
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli military operations killed at least 23 people on Friday across the Palestinian territory, with another five killed in an overnight air strike. Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that five people were killed in a strike on Gaza City that hit a school building sheltering Palestinians displaced by the war, now in its 22nd month. Bassal said five others were killed when an Israeli strike hit a tent used by displaced Palestinians also in Gaza City, in the territory's north. The Israeli military said that strike was carried out late Thursday, targeting 'a key terrorist in the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization,' a militant group that has fought alongside Hamas in Gaza. According to the civil defense agency, more than a dozen other Palestinians were killed in several strikes in Gaza's north, center and south on Friday. The toll includes at least eight people killed by Israeli fire while waiting to collect humanitarian aid, Bassal said. Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military did not comment on the agency's reports. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties. Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after a deadly attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023. The Israeli campaign has killed 59,676 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
