OPINION - The human cost of conflict: Why Türkiye’s role as a humanitarian player remains significant

The author is a visiting Fellow at Stimson Center, Washington, DC.

ISTANBUL

The residual effects of Israel’s ruthless attacks against Iran in 2025 —and Tehran’s legitimate retaliation under Article 51 [1] of the UN Charter, which allows targeted states to respond in self-defense— include extensive damage to Iran's health infrastructure [2] and nuclear facilities [3], as well as economic losses amounting to $6 billion in Israel [4]. While the conflict has shaken global oil markets [5], one of the most critical casualties — apart from the lack of credible information from Israel and the absence of impartial or de-escalatory rhetoric from the Netanyahu government— has been the widespread loss of civilian lives and mass displacement. Over 900 civilians [6] were killed in Iran during the twelve-day conflict, while the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center of the Norwegian Refugee Council estimates that around 2 million people [7] were displaced in Iran. In Israel, close to 18,000 civilians [8] were displaced due to incoming Iranian missiles.

At the very least, the damage to Iran aligns with Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz’s dangerous aim of collectively punishing the Iranian people for the actions of the regime in Tehran. However, Israel’s bombardment has only wreaked havoc on peace and tranquility, with mass displacement having a reverberating impact on neighboring Gaza, Lebanon and the already fragile security situation in Syria. The displacements in Iran add to the plight of an estimated 124,000 already displaced [9] in Lebanon and close to 1 million in Syria [10]. As displaced populations jostle with relocation challenges, they have faced the brunt of funding shortages due to the Iran-Israel conflict amid precarious security situations due to the palpable threat of incoming Israeli missiles on Iran and neighboring territories.

In light of this, Türkiye’s close proximity to conflict-prone regions in the Middle East, its status as a regional power with a historical role as a net provider of humanitarian aid in an apolitical and nonpartisan manner places it in a strong position to play a constructive role in addressing the variegated displacement quagmires in the Middle East which threaten strategic stability.

Historical precedents during Syria Civil War and robust public-private operations

Ankara is no stranger to conflicts in its neighborhood. Its response has consistently involved providing humanitarian aid based on historical precedents and careful planning. During the Assad days in Syria when peace and tranquility remained elusive for the average Syrian for 14 years, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in collaboration with local NGOs and civil society organizations successfully provided humanitarian aid [11] to afflicted populations in the form of dry food items to 160 families including orphans and widows in the suburbs of the capital Damascus, such as Beit Sawa, Medyara and Ghouta. Internally, Syrian refugees in Türkiye benefitted from comprehensive responses from governmental agencies such as the Turkish Disaster and Management Authority, which provided health care facilities, housing, sanitation and schools to 233,400 Syrian nationals [12] housed in 21 provisional houses in 2017. Furthermore, as a testament to Ankara’s commitment to self-actualization, political participation and mobilization of communities, AFAD encouraged Syrian refugees to partake in the management of their own camps by holding local elections to work towards social contracts anchored in popular sovereignty.

The same can also be said about Lebanon, where Israel’s bombardment in the South of the country during the Gaza war prompted both the Red Crescent of Türkiye and NGOs to address the plight [13] of displaced Lebanese by providing food packages and aid weighing 500 and 1,300 tons respectively in late 2024. Again, TIKA collaborated with more than 30 Lebanese public institutions and civil society organizations to distribute aid, including hygiene supplies, to displaced Lebanese lacking access to hospitals.

Such recent historical precedents of apolitical and transparent humanitarian aid establish Türkiye as one of the world’s top donor nations in 2017 [14]. This has been made possible due to synergy between public and private institutions as the standard, comprehensive and multilayered modus operandi.

Regional instability, stability and a humanitarian imperative in 2025

The scale of devastation in 2025 due to Israel’s hostilities and the Iranian response, places Türkiye in an important, critical and unique position to build on its historical support for humanitarianism, such as the opening up of safe corridors during Russia’s war in Ukraine, involving evacuations in the southern city of Mariupol in Ukraine [15] with the assistance of Russia and concomitant with diplomatic support for a ceasefire.

As Ankara’s foreign policy is anchored in neutrality and nonpartisanship, it is a critical variable to ensure that humanitarian aid and assistance for the displaced continues uninhibited. As reports of political tensions and polarization continue to make headlines [16], it is clear that the status quo will remain unchanged. Türkiye’s moderating influence can hence, act as a potential bridge between the two sides to ensure that people-centric humanitarian aid materializes in letter and spirit.

Türkiye’s role as a humanitarian actor is also critical, given that failing to address humanitarian quagmires can result in greater destabilization as disillusioned/ displaced populations become more prone to radicalization. Refugee flows due to unaddressed plights can also present an existential challenge in the form of immigration to Europe which puts a further strain on the continent’s local economies. This warrants a proactive role in addressing the humanitarian quagmire as residual effects of the Iran-Israel conflict, which Türkiye, along with international powers, can work to prevent — thereby averting multiple, complex humanitarian crises from emerging as a domestic challenge to be managed by individual states alone. Such proactiveness boosts Ankara’s image in the region with policies going beyond mere emergency responses toward rebuilding infrastructure and supporting social services for ravaged communities.

Behind every statistic is a human life that has suffered, whether due to Israel’s senseless bombardments or Iran’s legitimate right to self-defense. It is clear that Türkiye's historical and strategic role as a humanitarian actor in the Middle East is established and more critical than ever.

[1] https://english.news.cn/20240414/e3a5f12abb7f4ff398207b5db2cdb0ee/c.html

[2] https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-israel-trade-fresh-air-attacks-trump-weighs-us-involvement-2025-06-19/

[3] https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-war-israel-bunker-buster-bombs-5c148aa4829ec72583d052eb1f0a3a7b

[4] https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/economy/2025/06/26/israels-economic-losses-as-a-result-of-iran-war-estimated-at-6bn/

[5] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/29/oil-prices-iran-israel-conflict-nuclear-trump-sanctions.html

[6] https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5377700-iran-iran-israel-war-deaths/

[7] https://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/iran/

[8] https://www.palestinechronicle.com/israeli-media-over-3000-casualties-billions-in-damage-from-iran-war/

[9] https://www.unicef.org/appeals/lebanon

[10] https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/unhcr-urges-more-support-syria-1-million-displaced-north-west-yearn-home

[11] https://en.afad.gov.tr/turkey-response-to-syria-crisis

[12] https://www.dailysabah.com/turkiye/turkish-red-crescent-delivers-aid-to-lebanons-war-affected-areas/news

[13] https://gfmag.com/features/turkey-now-among-worlds-top-donor-nations/

[14] https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/diplomacy/humanitarian-corridor-opened-in-mariupol-at-request-of-turkey

[15] https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/turkeys-erdogan-calls-permanent-iran-israel-ceasefire-gaza-truce-2025-06-25/

[16] https://www.nbcnews.com/world/middle-east/live-blog/live-updates-iran-israel-trump-ceasefire-rcna214671

*Opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Anadolu's editorial policy.