Turkish first lady visits pediatric patients transferred from Gaza

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan visited pediatric patients Thursday who were transferred from the Gaza Strip to Türkiye via Egypt.

"Seeing that our Palestinian children --who are under treatment at Ankara Etlik City Hospital -- were safe and well, renewed our hopes at least to some extent," Erdogan wrote on X, who received information about the health of the children and wished them a speedy recovery.

"With all my heart, I demand an immediate permanent cease-fire and humanitarian aid for all innocent Palestinian children struggling to survive in besieged Gaza," she said.

A total of 182 patients were taken to Türkiye after passing through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

Türkiye expresses strong solidarity with Palestinians and said it is ready to provide visible and invisible humanitarian support.

Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on Oct. 7.

At least 18,787 Palestinians have since been killed and 50,897 injured in the Israeli onslaught, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, while around 139 hostages remain in captivity.