Türkiye in favor of Gaza cease-fire, 2-state solution to conflict: Foreign minister

By Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) – Türkiye favors and works for a cease-fire in Gaza, and a two-state solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict, the country's foreign minister reiterated on Thursday.

“Firstly, we are making efforts to ensure a cease-fire, to deliver humanitarian aid, and to prevent the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza,” Hakan Fidan said at the Turkish parliament.

He stressed that lasting peace and security can only be established with a two-state solution, adding: “The problem cannot be solved before the Israeli occupation ends. A sovereign and independent Palestinian state must be established as soon as possible."

Underlining the importance of regional countries embracing the problem, he said the guarantor mechanism that Türkiye proposed addresses the matter, as the conflict deeply affects the entire region.

Reminding that more than 20,000 innocent civilians, including 70% of whom were children and women, have been killed in Gaza, he said it was alarming that some Western countries publicly "support Israel's massacres and war crimes."

On the humanitarian efforts, the minister said Türkiye had delivered 2,500 tons of humanitarian aid for Palestinians to date.

“We also brought 283 cancer patients and injured people to our country. Our efforts to establish a field hospital in Gaza continue,” he added.

Türkiye also evacuated a total of 1,149 people from Gaza, and "continue the evacuation of our remaining citizens and their family members aiming to complete it safely as soon as possible,” he said.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, killing nearly 20,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring more than 52,000 others, according to health authorities in the enclave. There’s also been widespread destruction of homes and other infrastructure, besides shortage of food, water and medicines.

Israel says 1,200 people were killed in Oct. 7 incursion by Hamas.