UPDATE WITH MORE REMARKS FROM TURKISH PRESIDENT
By Necva Tastan Sevinc and Serdar Dincel
ISTANBUL (AA) - Israel will eventually pay the price for the genocide that has been going on in Gaza for a year, the Turkish president said on Monday.
"It should not be forgotten that Israel will sooner or later pay the price for this genocide that has been going on for a year," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on X.
Emphasizing the need for collective action against Israel, he said: "Just as humanity's common alliance stopped Hitler, (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and his murder network will be stopped in the same way."
"Those dying in Gaza, Palestine, and Lebanon these days are not only women, children, babies, and innocent civilians but also humanity and the international system," he added.
He underlined that 50,000 individuals, mostly women and children, have been murdered in Gaza in a year and many institutions in Gaza, including hospitals and schools, were destroyed.
“Many journalists, representatives of civil society organizations, and ambassadors of peace are no longer among us,” Erdogan said.
"For a year, what has been killed before the eyes of the world is humanity itself and all of humanity's hopes for the future," he added.
The Turkish president also extended condolences to the Palestinian and Lebanese people over the killing of tens of thousands of people by the Israeli government since Oct. 7.
"A world in which no account is held for the Gaza genocide will ever find peace,” said.
"As Türkiye, we will continue to stand against the Israeli government, regardless of the cost, and call on the world to join this honorable stance,” Erdogan added.
Israel has continued its relentless offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
Since then, nearly 42,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed, with over 97,100 others injured, according to local health authorities.
The ongoing Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip, exacerbating shortages of food, clean water, and medicine due to a long-standing blockade.
Israel is currently facing genocide charges at the International Court of Justice over its actions in Gaza.