Israel’s attack on Palestinians awaiting food aid ‘unacceptable’: Turkish President Erdogan

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - Israel’s recent attack on Palestinians awaiting food aid in Gaza is “unacceptable,” Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday during a meeting with Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan.

“In the meeting, President Erdogan expressed that the attack by Israel on civilians waiting for food aid is unacceptable, and suggested that Türkiye and Turkmenistan could collaborate to increase humanitarian aid to the region,” said the Türkiye’s Communications Directorate on X.

At least 112 Palestinians were killed and 760 others injured when Israeli forces shelled a crowd waiting for humanitarian aid south of Gaza City on Thursday, the Health Ministry in the enclave said.

The directorate noted that Erdogan and Berdimuhamedow, who is in Türkiye for the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, held a meeting on the sidelines of the forum.

“During the meeting, bilateral relations between Türkiye and Turkmenistan, as well as regional and global issues, were discussed, including Israel's systematic attacks on innocent civilians,” it further said.

Erdogan highlighted the importance of intensifying endeavors to take joint actions that would be advantageous for both nations across various domains, particularly aiming to elevate the bilateral trade volume between the two countries to $5 billion.

“Several agreements were signed between Türkiye and Turkmenistan, including the Mutual Cooperation Protocol for the Development of Cooperation in the Natural Gas Field, Statement of Intent for Cooperation in Oil and Natural Gas Fields, and the Memorandum of Understanding between Turkmenistan Airlines and Turkish Aeronautical Association University," the directorate added.