Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a strongly worded message on Gaza on Friday, 6 November, stressing that the peace agreement in the territory is not being implemented. Speaking at the official opening of the “TRT World 2026” forum at the Istanbul Congress Center, he said: “Unfortunately, the peace agreement in Gaza, which we also contributed to signing, is not being implemented. The principle of honoring commitments, which forms the basis of international relations, has not been put into practice. Everyone must understand that no problem can be resolved in this way.”
Erdoğan added that this approach would only lead to “a growing climate of resentment and hatred,” saying that developments in the region show the existing international order has “raised the flag of bankruptcy.”
The footage published by Anadolu Agency includes highlights from Erdoğan’s speech. He discusses the international order’s inability to act, settler terrorism aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians from their land, international institutions’ inaction over what is happening in Gaza and the failure to implement the peace agreement. Erdoğan concludes the footage by saying: “No one hears the voice of the oppressed and persecuted and makes it heard around the world except those who have planted a tree called compassion in their hearts.”
“The largest genocide of the modern era”
Erdoğan said Gaza is witnessing “the largest genocide of the modern era,” explaining that 75,000 people, most of them children and women, have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 2023, while another 176,000 have been injured. He said the figure is roughly 10 times the number of victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. He added that 1,500 Palestinians had lost their lives in the past year alone, while nearly 5,500 others had been injured.
He continued: “In Gaza, which has been reduced to ruins, people are still struggling to survive today in destroyed homes and among piles of rubble. Hospitals are suffering from shortages of fuel and equipment, the entry of humanitarian aid continues to be obstructed, and more than 2 million civilians have been forced to live in makeshift tents, in conditions that would make anyone who saw them ashamed of their humanity.”
The West Bank also under attack
Erdoğan said the West Bank has also become a target of this brutality, stating: “Settler terrorism, which aims to forcibly displace Palestinians from the land of their homeland where they have lived for centuries, is growing bolder by the day under the indifferent gaze of the modern world.” He recalled that an international delegation of lawmakers, academics and politicians was barred from entering the West Bank last week, and that a photojournalist working for an American newspaper was attacked by settlers 20 days ago and suffered serious injuries. He added that more than 3,000 attacks and violations against Palestinians were recorded in the West Bank in October alone.
Erdoğan asked: “What justification could legitimize such a massacre, occupation and rape? What justification could there be for dropping bombs on tent cities, hospitals, schools and homes where innocent children live?” He stressed that what is happening is “clear injustice” that every person of conscience, whether Muslim, Christian or Jewish, should oppose, and that it is fueling anger and hatred throughout the region.
“Watching from the stands”
Erdoğan criticized the international institutions responsible for maintaining peace and security, saying: “The international structures whose mission is to establish peace, security and stability are watching from the stands as what is happening in Gaza unfolds, just as they previously did in Rwanda, Srebrenica and many other places that were submerged in blood.” He added that these institutions do nothing but follow humanitarian tragedies and express concern.
He also said that more than 270 journalists had been killed during the genocide in Gaza, most of them deliberately targeted, criticizing press freedom reports that he said continue to favor Israel. He stressed that Türkiye will continue to firmly defend the right and the truth and courageously express what it believes is right, “whatever the cost.”
Photos and video: Anadolu Agency
