Türkiye urges refocus on Gaza crisis
As tensions soar in the Middle East, Ankara says Israel’s relentless bombing campaign in Gaza is the root of Tel Aviv’s conflict with Iran and calls for renewed attention to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Palestine
TÜRKİYE, which has denounced Israel for its campaign on Gaza, has called for renewed attention to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Palestinian enclave, which it said was at the heart of the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said on Sunday Türkiye is hoping regional tensions will de-escalate as soon as possible and attention will be focused on the crimes against humanity in Gaza, where Israeli attacks have killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since October 2023.
“As Türkiye, we will continue to exert every effort to achieve a cease-fire, ensure uninterrupted humanitarian aid reaches the oppressed Palestinian people and initiate a political process aimed at establishing a twostate permanent peace,” he said on X.
Yılmaz emphasized that “those who unconditionally support Israel by remaining silent about the massacres contribute to escalating regional tension and become complicit in the crimes of the Netanyahu administration.”
He reiterated to the international community to uphold the rule of law, support justice and halt Israeli attacks.
“There are no winners in war; only losers of a fair peace,” the vice president stressed.
Iran launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Israel late on Saturday in response to the April 1 attack on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus that killed several Iranian commanders. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is said to have fired more than 300 drones and missiles in an attack that lasted several hours, many of which were intercepted by Israeli air defense systems.
Many countries have urged restraint to avoid edging closer to a full-blown regional war.
Ankara has been on high alert and holding contact with Tehran, as well as Washington. According to an anonymous Turkish source, Iran informed Türkiye in advance of its planned operation against Israel, and Washington had conveyed to Tehran via Ankara that any action it took had to be “within certain limits.”
ANKARA’S TOP INTEL CHIEF SEEKS SOLUTION FOR REGIONAL TENSION
TÜRKİYE, which has denounced Israel for its campaign on Gaza, has called for renewed attention to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Palestinian enclave, which it said was at the heart of the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said on Sunday Türkiye is hoping regional tensions will de-escalate as soon as possible and attention will be focused on the crimes against humanity in Gaza, where Israeli attacks have killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since October 2023.
“As Türkiye, we will continue to exert every effort to achieve a cease-fire, ensure uninterrupted humanitarian aid reaches the oppressed Palestinian people and initiate a political process aimed at establishing a two-state permanent peace,” he said on X.
Yılmaz emphasized that “those who unconditionally support Israel by remaining silent about the massacres contribute to escalating regional tension and become complicit in the crimes of the Netanyahu administration.”
He reiterated to the international community to uphold the rule of law, support justice and halt Israeli attacks.
“There are no winners in war; only losers of a fair peace,” the vice president stressed.
Iran launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Israel late on Saturday in response to the April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus that killed several Iranian commanders. The IRGC is said to have fired more than 300 drones and missiles in an attack that lasted several hours, many of which were intercepted by Israeli air defense systems.
Many countries have urged restraint to avoid edging closer to a full-blown regional war.
Ankara has been on high alert and holding contact with Tehran, as well as Washington. According to an anonymous Turkish source, Iran informed Türkiye in advance of its planned operation against Israel and Washington had conveyed to Tehran via Ankara that any action it took had to be “within certain limits.”
The source said Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had spoken to both his U.S. and Iranian counterparts in the past week to discuss the planned Iranian operation, adding Ankara had been made aware of possible developments.
Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Fidan to make clear that escalation in the Middle East was not in anyone’s interest.
“Iran informed us in advance of what would happen. Possible developments also came up during the meeting with Blinken, and they (the U.S.) conveyed to Iran through us that this reaction must be within certain limits,” the source said.
“In response, Iran said the reaction would be a response to Israel’s attack on its embassy in Damascus and that it would not go beyond this.”
Iran, which neighbors Türkiye, had vowed retaliation for what it called an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate.
Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry later confirmed the contacts in a statement, saying Ankara had called for restraint and warned of a regional war if tensions escalated further. It said Ankara would continue efforts to prevent further conflict and escalation in the region.
ROOT OF CONFLICT
Similarly, Fidan and Blinken on Sunday discussed over the phone the current situation in the region.
The minister reminded Blinken that the Gaza conflict lies at the heart of the Israel-Iran issue, and emphasized the necessity for a cease-fire to prevent the crisis from escalating further, Turkish diplomatic sources said.
Fidan stressed Türkiye’s concern to Blinken regarding the escalation and potential spread of the crisis in the region, highlighting that Türkiye has “repeatedly expressed” the risk of the Gaza crisis evolving into a regional conflict since its inception.
Saying that the conflict in the Palestinian enclave is at the core of Israel-Iran tensions, Fidan reiterated to Blinken the urgent need for an immediate cease-fire and uninterrupted humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza.
He cautioned that failure to do so would result in the crisis escalating further.
Fidan said countries that have influence over Israel should give the right messages to avoid escalation.
A diplomatic source earlier said that Fidan told his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian that Türkiye wanted to avoid “a new escalation in the region.”
A Turkish security source said that U.S. intelligence chief William Burns had spoken to İbrahim Kalın, head of Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT), over the Ramadan Bayram holidays, also known as Eid al-Fitr, and asked him to act as a “mediator” in the Israel-Iran tensions.
The two discussed cease-fire efforts in Gaza as well, the source said, without elaborating.
Kalın also spoke with Hamas’s political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh over the phone on Sunday, Turkish sources said. The pair discussed Gaza, cease-fire negotiations, the delivery of humanitarian aid to the blockaded strip, prisoner exchange and the return of Gazans to their homes in the north.