Erdoğan says not only kids but also UN system dying in Gaza

NEW YORK

The Israeli massacre in Gaza must be stopped, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, adding that the current U.N. structure must be changed.

“Gaza has become ‘the world’s largest graveyard for children and women’ because of Israel’s attacks,” Erdoğan said.

“Not only children are dying in Gaza, the United Nations system is dying, truth is dying, values that the West claims to defend are dying. People’s hopes of living in a more just world are dying.”

The U.N. is increasingly becoming a dysfunctional, inactive structure, Erdoğan added.

“We are witnessing that international peace and security are too important to be left to the whims of five countries,” he added.

“In an environment where U.N. Security Council resolutions are not implemented, coercive measures should be taken against Israel. Just as Hitler was stopped 70 years ago, Netanyahu and his murderous network must be stopped by an alliance of humanity.”

Erdoğan noted that Türkiye has no enmity against the people of Israel and that its problem is with the Israeli government’s policy of massacres and genocide.

During his visit, Erdoğan also met with several world leaders ahead of his address to discuss the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

In a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at New York’s Turkish House, a skyscraper located across from the U.N. building, Erdoğan criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration, accusing it of violating international law and human rights.

“Israel seeks to widen the circle of violence,” Erdoğan told Scholz on Sept. 23, adding that Western support emboldens its aggressive actions.

The two leaders also discussed Türkiye-Germany bilateral relations, Ankara’s EU membership bid and challenges Turkish citizens face in obtaining Schengen visas, according to Erdoğan’s office.

In separate talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Erdoğan emphasized the need for peace amid Israel’s attacks on Palestine and Lebanon.

He urged regional cooperation to counter Israel’s “aggression that threatens peace and stability.”

The president further said the international community must take a stronger stance based on diplomacy and human rights to end the violence in Gaza.

He also hosted Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Sabah, where discussions focused on the importance of united efforts within the Islamic world to address the escalating violence in Palestinian territories.

Erdoğan earlier met with the International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor, calling for Israel to be held accountable for its “genocide in Gaza.”

“Israel is recklessly making plans to carry out new massacres, wrongfully thinking that there was no power to stop them,” Erdoğan told Karim Khan.

He also said that “it is extremely important that the genocide case against Israel at the ICC must be concluded” and that perpetrators must receive necessary punishment, according to his office.

In a series of previous meetings held at the Turkish House, Erdoğan met with his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vucic, and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Following his bilateral talks, Erdoğan attended a meeting with business leaders on the sidelines of a Türkiye-U.S. Business Council (TAİK) conference.

“Economic and trade issues constitute one of the most important dimensions of our relations with the United States,” Erdoğan told sector representatives.

He underscored the shared goal of achieving $100 billion in bilateral trade, highlighting key sectors with strong potential for collaboration, including defense, renewable energy and the automotive industry.