ISTANBUL

After months of relentless Israeli attacks, scenes in famine-wracked Gaza are now “worse than Nazi camps,” with people being starved and deprived of water before the eyes of the world, said the Turkish president on Tuesday.

"The terrorist state of Israel has been committing genocide against our brothers in Gaza, brutally massacring them for 22 months in an area of 360 square kilometers (139 square miles)," Erdogan told a news conference alongside his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in Ankara.

"Israel's use of hunger as a weapon against Palestinians is the clearest indication that they have no humanity," he added.

Calling the humanitarian situation in Gaza catastrophic, Erdogan urged all countries “with a conscience, especially Islamic nations, and all peoples” to raise their voices loudly to counter Israel’s attacks, which cause innocent children to be killed either from hunger or from bullets fired by occupation forces.

“We will continue to do whatever is necessary in this regard. God willing, we will also see the days when those committing genocide against the people of Gaza are held accountable before the law and history,” Erdogan added.

Relations with Kazakhstan

On ties between Türkiye and Kazakhstan, Erdogan said he and Tokayev discussed projects that will take Turkish-Kazakh military and defense industry cooperation to the next level.

Noting that the level of relations between Türkiye and Kazakhstan was elevated to an Enhanced Strategic Partnership, Erdogan said Kazakhstan is the largest economy in the region and also Ankara’s biggest trade partner there.

“We are continuing our path to reach a trade volume of $15 billion,” he added.

Emphasizing that Turkish investments in Kazakhstan have reached the level of $5 billion, while Kazakh investments in Türkiye are approaching $1.5 billion, Erdogan said that they discussed a wide range of topics, from defense to energy, from transportation to science and technology.

“As a result, we signed 20 documents, which you just witnessed. We explored opportunities for cooperation in sectors such as mining and rare earth elements. We discussed ways to transport larger volumes of Kazakh oil to global markets via our country. We also consulted on what can be done to utilize and further develop the Middle Corridor, which is the modern-day counterpart of the Silk Road and passes through the Caspian Sea,” Erdogan added.

Stating that cooperation on security and the fight against terrorist groups, especially the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) – responsible for a deadly failed coup in 2016 – were also discussed, Erdogan said cooperation in education was also part of their talks.

"Now, I would like to share the good news that, with the support of President Tokayev, the Turkish Maarif (Education) Foundation has begun efforts to open one school each in (the capital) Astana and Almaty,” he said.

“We are working together to strengthen the Turkic world, both through our bilateral relations and within the framework of our family council, the Organization of Turkic States,” he added.

Touching on the Turkish Cypriots, “who are an essential and inseparable part of the Turkic world,” Erdogan said that in the joint statement they adopted, they specifically discussed the importance of respecting the equal and inherent rights of the Turkish Cypriots.