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Türkiye's government has severed all commercial ties with Israel and closed its airspace to Israeli aircraft, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated Friday during an extraordinary parliamentary session on Gaza. The measures also include prohibiting Turkish vessels from entering Israeli ports.
Fidan said Türkiye firmly opposes any proposals that would displace Palestinians from Gaza, calling such plans "invalid." He described Israel's actions as "committing genocide in Gaza for the past two years, ignoring basic humanitarian values right before the world's eyes."
The Turkish foreign minister warned that Israel's military operations across the Middle East could engulf the entire region in conflict if not stopped. Fidan condemned what he characterized as Israel's "reckless attacks on Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iran," describing them as "the clearest sign of a terrorist state mentality defying international order."
He said the atrocities committed in Gaza "have been recorded as one of the darkest chapters in human history."
Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus called for "concrete steps" against Israel during the session, including suspending its memberships in international organizations such as the U.N. until it abandons what he termed "genocidal policies."
The Turkish foreign minister described the Palestinian resistance as a struggle that "will alter the course of history, become a symbol for the oppressed, and shake the foundations of a decaying order."
After 22 months of relentless conflict, the global hunger monitor Integrated Food Security Phase Classification reported that over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing starvation, destitution, and death, while another 1.07 million people—over half the population—are facing emergency levels of acute food insecurity.
Israel has killed around 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
On Syria, Fidan stressed that Türkiye "will not allow Syria's ancient and valuable communities to be exploited" for distorted goals against Syria's territorial integrity.
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