In a high-level diplomatic meeting held in Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry welcomed his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, to discuss the ongoing developments in the Gaza Strip, with a particular focus on the impact on the Palestinian population.
Amid the discussions on Saturday, Hakan Fidan reaffirmed Turkey’s strong stance against any attacks targeting innocent civilians and expressed Turkey’s disapproval of Israel’s policy of deporting Palestinians to Egypt. He stated, “We do not approve of the policy of displacing Palestinians in Gaza and deporting them to Egypt. We oppose this to the end, and we stand with Egypt on this issue.”
The Turkish Foreign Minister emphasized the significance of addressing the dire humanitarian situation faced by the Palestinian people in Gaza. Both ministers acknowledged the importance of containing the ongoing conflict and the necessity of full compliance with international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians from harm and non-targeting.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry echoed this sentiment, stating, “Developments related to Gaza have captured a large amount of conversation among us, and there is a common vision about the importance of working to overcome the extremely serious humanitarian impacts that are affecting the Palestinian people in Gaza, the importance of containing this conflict, and the importance of full adherence to the rules of international humanitarian law and respecting non-targeting and harm. Civilians are at risk from any side.”
The Turkish Foreign Minister reported that they had successfully evacuated 30 of their citizens out of the approximately 300 individuals with dual citizenship residing in Gaza.
The Israeli Embassy in Turkey had previously announced on social media that one Turkish citizen had lost their life in an attack by Hamas, and they were unable to establish contact with another Turkish citizen.
Israel initiated the attacks on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, aiming to “destroy” the Islamist group after they reportedly stormed Israel’s southern border a week ago, resulting in the deaths of civilians in their homes, on roads, and at a public event. Hamas claimed responsibility for the deaths of around 1,300 people on Israeli soil, while Gaza authorities reported that Israeli bombardments have claimed the lives of 2,215 individuals in Gaza.
By xamse
October 15, 2023
