No justification for indiscriminate killings in Gaza; this is Israel's 'barbarism': Turkish foreign minister

By Can Efesoy, Tugba Altun and Aynur Seyma Asan

ANKARA (AA) – There is no justification for the indiscriminate killing of tens of thousands of civilians in the Gaza Strip, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday, describing the ongoing Israeli army attacks on Palestinian territory as "barbarism."

"There is a narrative that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has constructed, framing the entire process with some events that occurred on Oct. 7 and presenting it to the West based on what happened on that day. He (Netanyahu) narrates the incident as 'I have been killed. The perpetrators are barbarians.' So it doesn't matter what happened to him,” Fidan told reporters in the Turkish capital Ankara.

“Türkiye’s stance completely overturns the strategy he presented, and the narrative that the West has bought into," he noted.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 22,185 Palestinians have since been killed and 57,035 others injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

Fidan emphasized that Hamas's actions toward civilians could be criticized, and Türkiye does not shy away from doing so.

"But we should not overlook the issue of the indiscriminate killing of Gazans by using them as an excuse," he said.

"If you define Hamas based on its actions against civilians, the same rule should also apply to Israel. So, you should define Israel in the same way as well. These are the issues to which they cannot respond," the foreign minister said.

Fidan also spoke about Türkiye’s cross-border anti-terror operations and the recent approach by the Baghdad and Erbil administrations.

"We are fully cooperating with Erbil in the fight against terrorism. They, in particular, share our concerns about the PKK," he explained.

"Our cooperation with Erbil is going further every day," Fidan added.

PKK terrorists often hide in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz