Israel will not stop in Gaza, Turkish president warns

Speaking at the his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) parliamentary meeting in Ankara on Wednesday, Erdogan pointed to the 76th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakhba and said Turkey “preserves the hope that they will soon return to their homes.”

He stressed that Turkey would "continue to stand by Hamas, which is fighting for its own land's independence and defending Anatolia."

"Israel will not stop in Gaza, and if not stopped, this rogue state will eventually target Anatolia with its delusions of a promised land," the Turkish president warned, according to local Turkish media.

He reiterated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Netanyahu and those complicit in genocide will be held accountable for every drop of blood they have shed."

He said that, "On Nakhba, the Day of Catastrophe, we once again declare with all our being and resources that we stand by Palestine and the Palestinian cause."

"We will also ensure that the perpetrators of genocide face justice," he added.

Turkey on Tuesday officially filed an application of intervention for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), becoming the third nation after Nicaragua and Colombia to take legal action against Tel Aviv over its ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The filing of the application corresponds to May 15, a day solemnly observed by Palestinians worldwide to commemorate the Nakhba anniversary.

Palestinians, both within Palestine and abroad, mark this day with various events that honor the significance of this tragic historical event.

On Sunday, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics released a report marking the 76th Nakhba anniversary, indicating that since 1948, around 134,000 Palestinians and Arabs have been killed both inside and outside Palestine.

The Nakhba anniversary this year comes as the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip are experiencing an devastating Israeli onslaught that has been taking place since Oct. 7, and has left over 35,000 Palestinians killed, mostly women and children.

MNA