President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Israel is continuing its fatal attacks on the Palestinians in Gaza despite the ceasefire and efforts to intensify works for the reconstruction of the enclave.
“Despite the ceasefire established on Oct. 10 with our efforts, the lawless Israeli government increasingly continues to attack Gaza and the West Bank,” President Erdoğan said at an iftar dinner late on Feb. 25, with the participation of labor unions and representatives in Ankara.
As a result of Israeli attacks some 615 Palestinians were killed and nearly 2,000 were wounded since Oct. 11, Erdoğan recalled, stressing that the civilians in Gaza cannot fully enjoy the holy month of Ramadan due to continued aggression.
Erdoğan also criticized Israel’s restrictions of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza at the expense of violating the Oct. 10 deal.
“Limitations, oppression and Israel’s arbitrary behaviors unfortunately continue at the Rafah border crossing, the lifeline of Gaza," Erdoğan stated.
"Our Gazan brothers and sisters, who fast under extremely severe conditions and break their fast among debris in makeshift buildings full of bullet and shrapnel marks and yet do not bow down to the oppressor despite all this, once again set an example to all Muslims with their faith."
Türkiye, Qatar, Egypt and the United States led efforts to sign a peace deal between Israel and Hamas in October 2025 in a bid to end the Israeli genocide on the civilians that has killed more than 70,000 people.
The second phase of the deal stipulates the establishment of an international peace force in Gaza and beginning of the works for the normalization of life in the enclave.
In the meantime, sources from the Defense Ministry did also touch on the continued violation of the ceasefire by the Israeli forces which threaten the implementation of the peace deal. Humanitarian crisis continues in Gaza and uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid is of vital importance for the civilians, the sources stressed.
“In addition, Israel’s efforts to expand illegal settlements in the West Bank, in violation of the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, damage the establishment of peace and stability,” the sources said.
“We invite all the actors to stick to the two-state solution objective by using a constructive rhetoric and acting with common sense.”
