Merve Berker
17 October 2023•Update: 18 October 2023
ANKARA
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spoke by phone Tuesday on the latest developments in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“The call addressed the conflicts that are becoming more and more violent between Israel and Palestine as well as steps aimed at ensuring calm,” Türkiye’s Communications Directorate said on X.
“Sharing with his Brazilian counterpart Türkiye’s offers of a solution for a lasting peace, President Erdogan said no country should add fuel to the fire and that concrete steps should be taken by all regarding humanitarian aid within the framework of human rights,” it added.
Sharing the details of his phone call with President Erdogan on X, Lula said: "We talked about the importance of a cease-fire, humanitarian aid and the need for food and medicine to enter across the border with Egypt."
Brazil has already brought home around a thousand nationals who were in Israel, Lula said, adding he asked for "help in the release of around 30 Brazilian citizens who are awaiting exit from Gaza, and President Erdogan was willing to help in any way he could," said a statement by the Brazilian Presidency.
Eleven days into the conflict with the Palestinian group Hamas, Israel's bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip has continued, with over one million people displaced – almost half of Gaza's total population, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The fighting began when Hamas on Oct. 7 initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
Israel's response has extended to cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.
At least 3,061 Palestinians have been killed and 13,750 others have been injured in the ongoing Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, the Health Ministry in Gaza said.
More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the conflict.
