By Aykut Yilmaz
ANKARA (AA) — As Israel's deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip enters its sixth month, an official report from Türkiye on the situation in the Palestinian enclave has been dispatched worldwide, aiming to serve as evidence in the prosecution of those responsible for "massacre, war crimes, and genocide," according to the country's chief ombudsman.
The document, titled Gaza: A Special Report on the Catastrophe of Humanity, was prepared by Türkiye's Ombudsman Institution and introduced at Turkish parliament last week. It has now been sent to other legislatures, as well as international institutions and organizations including the UN Security Council, European Parliament, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Speaking to Anadolu, Chief Ombudsman Seref Malkoc underlined the importance of the report documenting the "genocide" that Israel has waged in Gaza since Oct. 7, adding that copies had been distributed to the representatives of nearly 200 countries at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) on March 1-3.
"I believe that this report will be used as evidence in courts where those responsible for the massacre, war crimes, and genocide in Gaza will be tried," Malkoc said.
- 'World's largest child cemetery'
Since the report was made public, ambassadors from many countries have asked for appointments to discuss its contents, Malkoc noted.
"South Africa's ambassador said they would forward the report to their president to be sent to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
"In addition, a team headed by our ombudsman Fatma Benli Yalcin sent the report electronically to all human rights defenders, ombuds, human rights commissions in countries' parliaments, and judgment institutions worldwide.
"Since Oct. 7, Gaza has turned into the world's largest children's cemetery," the official lamented.
There is no other example in the world of the massacre unfolding in Gaza, he said, adding: "They dropped bombs on Gaza three times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki."
"Nearly 70,000 tons of bombs," he stressed.
Criticizing the US and many European nations for maintaining their support for Israel, Malkoc also pointed out that millions around the world "who have a conscience and value human dignity are taking to the streets" to protest Israel's onslaught.
With the events in Gaza, the international system set up by Europe and the US after World War II has collapsed, along with all their theories and jurisprudence on human rights, he asserted.
Arguing that the world needs a new breath of fresh air on human rights thinking, Malkoc said: "Our president's (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) statement that, 'the world is bigger than five,' and the fact that it is gaining attention all over the world is the most concrete indicator of this."
He was referring to Erdogan's oft-repeated slogan for UN reform, "The world is bigger than five," pointing to the unrepresentative nature of the UN Security Council's five permanent, veto-wielding members.
"After Oct. 7, the law on human rights in Gaza, Palestine, and the world will be reconsidered," said Malkoc.
"In Türkiye, human rights institutions like us have great responsibility. We have prepared this report to fulfill this responsibility."
- 'Being a woman in Gaza'
Calling attention to the suffering of women and children in Gaza since Oct. 7, Ombudswoman Yalcin also underlined that Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza over the past five months.
Speaking to Anadolu, she noted that according to the UN Population Fund, pregnant women face the risk of miscarriage at rates of up to 300% as they have no access to hospital care.
Yalcin pointed out that the 50,000 women who were pregnant in Gaza on Oct. 7 could not "give birth in a healthy way" amid the lack of food and clean water, with many among the 2 million displaced since the offensive began.
The official further said:
"That is why there are so many child deaths. There are even many reports of women going through c-sections without anesthesia," said the official.
"Things are getting much worse for women in Gaza," she warned. "This March 8, we need to proclaim this to the whole world."
Yalcin emphasized that the number of women killed in Gaza has exceeded 7,500 and urged women's organizations around the world to raise their voices on International Women's Day to say: "Stop the massacre of women and children in Gaza."
"We have prepared a brochure on what being a woman is like in Gaza and we will present it at the Commission on the Status of Women to be held at the UN," she said, adding that the Turkish parliament's Committee on Equal Opportunity for Women and Men would also take part in this presentation.
Stating that women and children have been targeted and killed by Israeli snipers in Gaza, she said the Ombudsman Institution's report document this and other aspects of the situation in the besieged territory.
Yalcin also underlined that what is happening in Gaza is the result of Israel's impunity.
"If the world does not oppose this with a louder voice, if Palestine is not recognized as an independent state in the UN, if an immediate cease-fire is not achieved, all the rights violations taking place in the world will become crimes in which governments worldwide are complicit," she warned.
She said only "existing cases" have been used in the report to document the genocide.
Yalcin pointed out that more than a thousand children have had their arms and legs amputated in Gaza, mentioning that children were operated on without anesthesia due to Israeli attacks on hospitals.
"Every day in Gaza, 10 children's arms and legs are amputated without anesthesia," she said.
"On March 8, everyone who thinks about Gaza should ask themselves the question, 'What would I do if I were the mother of that child?"
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack which Tel Aviv said killed nearly 1,200 people.
More than 30,700 Palestinians have since been killed and over 72,000 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
*Writing by Merve Berker