News / Palestine

‘First phase of genocide’: Turkey slams Israel’s blocking of aid

Sunday, 04 August 2024 6:40 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 04 August 2024 7:22 PM ]

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says Israel’s practice of blocking aid, killing aid workers and allowing humanitarian supplies to rot are crimes against humanity and the “first phase of the genocide.”

"Israel's closing of the border gate, targeting aid convoys, killing humanitarian workers, blocking the evacuation of the sick and civilians, and causing the decay of thousands of trucks' worth of aid materials are crimes against humanity and constitute the first stage of the genocide being conducted on the other side of the border," the top Turkish diplomat said after visiting Egypt’s el-Arish Port and Rafah border crossing, which links Palestine and Egypt.

The Turkish foreign minister further urged the global community not to remain silent on “Israel’s oppression.”

He warned the Western world, “especially the US” that everyone will be complicit in the ongoing genocide if it is not stopped.

"If we do not stop this massacre here together, humanity will be complicit in it. Therefore, we must strive to provide all possible assistance and increase all pressure on Israel,” Fidan stated.

The Rafah crossing is a key entry point for humanitarian assistance into the besieged territory.

Israeli forces capture Rafah crossing as tanks roll in after heavy bombardment

The Israeli military says it has taken full control of the Rafah crossing, which borders Egypt.

By capturing the Rafah crossing, Israel earlier gained full control over the entry and exit of people and goods.

Israel has repeatedly closed the tightly controlled crossing in a deliberate attempt to block the flow of food, medicines and basic supplies into Gaza, using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.

The Zionist regime has also destroyed the passenger halls at the Rafah crossing as part of its crimes against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip continues to claim more Palestinian lives.

In the latest Israeli attack, at least 30 civilians have been killed and dozens more injured in the bombing of two schools sheltering displaced people in Gaza City.

The Palestinian Civil Defense has described the bombing of Al Nasr and Hassan Salama schools as “a massacre in every sense of the word”.

Israel ‘lied’ about 'tactical pause' as Rafah crossing destroyed: Govt.

The Government Information Office in the Gaza Strip says Israel lied about a daily pause of its attacks in southern areas of the Palestinian territory.

It said 80 percent of those killed and wounded are children. The attack comes a day after a similar attack on another school in Gaza that left ten people dead.

The Israeli aggression on Gaza, which began last October, has so far claimed the lives of nearly 40,000 people, mostly women and children.

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