Türkiye ready to contribute to stop massacre in Gaza, establish cease-fire: President

By Serdar Dincel

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday expressed his country's readiness to contribute in every way to stop the ongoing massacre in Gaza, and establish a lasting cease-fire.

Israel has killed more than 43,000 people in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.

In his address at Türkiye's AK Party's parliamentary group meeting, Erdogan also welcomed the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Lebanon that came into effect this morning.

"We expect all parties, especially Israel, to fully fulfill their responsibilities in maintaining calm on the ground," he said.

The truce between Israel and Lebanon, brokered with US and French diplomatic efforts, came into effect at 4 a.m. local time (0200GMT).

Hezbollah began a series of ballistic missile, rocket and drone attacks on Israel last October to demonstrate solidarity with the people of Gaza and pressure Israel for a cease-fire in the besieged coastal enclave.

While cross-border warfare continued, Israel launched massive airstrikes across the small Mediterranean country against what it said were Hezbollah targets in late September. A ground invasion was launched on Oct. 1.