Türkiye's Erdogan Says UN, Western Values Dying in Gaza

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the General Debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 24 September 2024. (EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the General Debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 24 September 2024. (EPA)
TT

Türkiye's Erdogan Says UN, Western Values Dying in Gaza

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the General Debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 24 September 2024. (EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the General Debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 24 September 2024. (EPA)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the values of the United Nations' system and the Western world are dying in Gaza as the conflict continues there, calling for an "alliance of humanity" to stop Israel.

In a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Erdogan reiterated his harsh criticism on Israel over its military campaign in the Gaza strip and on the Western countries for their support to Israel.

"Along with children in Gaza, the United Nations system is also dying, the truth is dying, the values that the West claims to defend are dying, the hopes of humanity to live in a fairer world are dying one by one," Erdogan said.

NATO member Türkiye has condemned Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which came in retaliation for Palestinian militant group Hamas' cross-border attack on Oct. 7 last year. Türkiye halted all trade with Israel and applied to join a genocide case against Israel at the World Court.

Israel has repeatedly dismissed the genocide case as baseless, arguing in the court that its operations in Gaza are self-defense and target Gaza's ruling Hamas group.

"Those who are supposedly working for a ceasefire continue to send weapons and ammunition to Israel behind the stage, so that it can continue its massacres. This is inconsistency and insincerity," Erdogan said.

Erdogan also said that Türkiye stands with the people of Lebanon as Israel targets Hezbollah fighters with airstrikes there.



Israeli Strike in Syria Kills 5 Soldiers

People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
TT

Israeli Strike in Syria Kills 5 Soldiers

People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

An overnight Israeli airstrike on a military site in the area of Kfar Yabous in Syria near the border with Lebanon killed five Syrian army soldiers and injured another, Syrian state news agency SANA reported Friday, citing an unnamed military official.

Israel's military did not immediately acknowledge the strike. Israel regularly targets military sites in Syria and facilities linked to Iran and the Lebanon’s Hezbollah but rarely acknowledges them.

Those strikes have become more frequent as Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese and Syrians have fled across the border from Lebanon into Syria since the beginning of the week amid intense Israeli bombardment that Israel says is targeting Hezbollah fighters and weapons. The strikes have killed an estimated 700 people to date, including at least 150 women and children.