Türkiye declares 3 days' mourning over Gaza hospital strike
ANKARA
Türkiye declared three days' mourning over a deadly strike on a hospital in war-torn Gaza that killed hundreds.
"This is one of the greatest massacres in human history... Accordingly, our president [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] will declare a national mourning," ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson Ömer Çelik announced.
"A solution will not be possible unless the occupation ends. Israel is systematically murdering all human values," Çelik said.
Later on, the national mourning declared under a presidential decree by Erdoğan on Oct. 18.
"It is important to show at what level we perceive this issue," she said in the parliament's general assembly meeting on Oct. 18.
Meanwhile, Erdoğan has decried the attack as "the latest example of Israeli attacks devoid of the most basic human values."
"I invite all humanity to take action to stop this unprecedented brutality in Gaza," Erdoğan said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Oct. 17.
Hamas-run Palestinian territory's health ministry said Israeli air strikes on the hospital compound sheltering displaced people had killed hundreds.
Türkiye's Foreign Ministry also released a statement condemning the strike, denouncing it as a "barbaric attack in the strongest terms." The statement further expressed deep outrage over the loss of lives and injuries resulting from the "deliberate targeting of the hospital."
"It is inevitable that a mindset directly targeting civilians and striking hospitals and schools be held accountable before international law and by conscience," read the statement, expressing condolences to the victims and their families.
Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, for his part, echoed similar sentiments in a message shared by the ministry. "It's the point where humanity ends that Israel, which continues its brutal attacks on Gaza, hit the hospital and massacred innocent civilians despite the reaction of the whole world," he was quoted as saying.
The leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, described the attack as "murder" and accused Israel of committing a "crime against humanity."
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli also took to social media to express his strong condemnation. "Let the brutality end, the humanity to unite... Let the children live, the murderers be down," he wrote.
The People's Equality and Democracy Party (HEDEP) also issued a statement, denouncing "Israel's attacks on the hospital in Gaza where civilians took shelter and the injured were treated" and characterizing the events as "a crime against humanity."