Türkiye hails Brazil's stance on Gaza, says foreign minister

By Emre Basaran and Esra Tekin

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye applauds Brazil's stance on the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip, the country's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Wednesday in a joint news conference with his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira in the capital Ankara.

Fidan expressed Ankara's appreciation for Brazil's solidarity with Palestine, adding that Brasilia was "actively working for the official recognition of Palestine as a full UN member."

He said that the "fundamentalist government" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued its "systematic massacre," of Palestinians, adding: "Türkiye will not stand idly by the ongoing massacre in Gaza."

Underlining the importance of a two-state solution, Fidan said the "only way for bloodshed in Gaza to stop is through a two-state solution."

"Türkiye welcomes Brazil's support to South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice," he concluded.

Israel has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians in Gaza since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 which claimed 1,200 lives and around 250 were taken as hostages.

As many as 105 captives were released as part of a brief truce in November in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Around 125 people remain held captive, with many of them believed to be dead due to Israeli airstrikes.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of "genocide" at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where more than a million displaced Palestinians had sought refuge.