CHANGES HEADLINE< ADDS STATEMENT BY TURKISH VICE PRESIDENT, CLARIFIES NAME OF CHANNEL: TRT ARABI
By Gozde Bayar and Zehra Nur Duz
Türkiye on Friday condemned the Israeli army attack on a team from Turkish public broadcaster TRT Arabi in Gaza.
“We condemn this vile attack. This is terrorism. This terrorism must stop and the Western world must oppose this brutality as soon as possible,” Türkiye's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said on X.
While preparing for a broadcast in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, a team from TRT Arabi – the Arabic-language channel of Turkish national broadcaster TRT – was attacked by the Israeli army.
Sami Shahada, a freelance cameraman working for the channel, was seriously injured and had to undergo surgery. TRT Arabi reporter Sami Berhum escaped unhurt.
“Israel targets journalists and attacks freedom of the press to prevent its massacres from being seen. The international community's indifference to these attacks also encourages Israel,” Altun added.
He urged the international community to take action against the atrocities and said those who “remain silent about these systematic attacks are complicit in Israel's crime of genocide.”
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz wished a speedy recovery for Shahada and extended his sympathies to the entire TRT community.
"Israel cannot cover up its massacres and crimes against humanity with attacks on journalists," Yilmaz said in a statement on X.
Yilmaz called on the international press and self-declared “champions of press freedom” to recognize these crimes and take a stand.
"Gaza is the clearest litmus test for democracy, fundamental rights, and press freedom," he said.
Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus also wished Shahada a speedy recovery and called on the international community to raise its voice to protest crimes against humanity.
Chief presidential adviser Akif Cagatay Kilic extended his condolences to the injured journalist and the entire TRT family.
“We once again condemn the Israeli army, which brutally murdered Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, for targeting members of the press who bring the humanitarian situation in the region to the world's agenda,” Omer Celik, spokesman for Türkiye's Justice and Development (AK) Party, said on X.
Ozgur Ozel, head of the main opposition Turkish Republican People's Party, condemned Israel's targeting of journalists during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
Mehmet Zahid Sobaci, national broadcaster TRT's director general, also condemned Israel’s brutality, saying that they have “no moral, legal, or humanitarian limits.”
Israel has waged a military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas which killed some 1,200 people.
More than 33,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began.
Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the seaside enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.
The war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while much of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has urged it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.