عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Netanyahu, Erdogan Pledge New Era of Israeli-Turkish Ties

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu - File/Reuters
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu - File/Reuters
TT
TT

Netanyahu, Erdogan Pledge New Era of Israeli-Turkish Ties

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu - File/Reuters
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu - File/Reuters

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Israel's Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to work together to create a new era in relations between Türkiye and Israel.

This came during the first phone call between Netanyahu and Erdogan since nine years, when the then Israeli PM called the Turkish president in 2013 to apologize for the attack launched by the Israeli navy on the Turkish ship “Mavi Marmara”, which was part of a Turkish fleet to break the siege on Gaza in 2010, and which killed 9 Turkish citizens.

Erdogan’s office said Netanyahu's office said in a statement that Netanyahu offered his condolences for the recent deadly explosion in Istanbul that killed six and wounded 81 others.

Erdogan thanked Netanyahu for his call and also condoled Netanyahu for the three Israeli soldiers who were killed near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday.

Earlier, Erdogan said he wished the Israeli election results “will be beneficial for the country and the region.”

Relations between Israel and Türkiye have been strained for more than a decade, with Ankara having expelled Israel's ambassador following a 2010 Israeli raid on an aid ship to Gaza, which killed Turkish citizens.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Mayotte Authorities Fear Hunger and Disease; Race to Help Cyclone Survivors

French military members prepare supplies to be transported to Mayotte, in the aftermath of Cyclone Chido, at the military airbase 181 in Sainte Marie in Reunion Island, France, December 17, 2024. (Reuters)
French military members prepare supplies to be transported to Mayotte, in the aftermath of Cyclone Chido, at the military airbase 181 in Sainte Marie in Reunion Island, France, December 17, 2024. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Mayotte Authorities Fear Hunger and Disease; Race to Help Cyclone Survivors

French military members prepare supplies to be transported to Mayotte, in the aftermath of Cyclone Chido, at the military airbase 181 in Sainte Marie in Reunion Island, France, December 17, 2024. (Reuters)
French military members prepare supplies to be transported to Mayotte, in the aftermath of Cyclone Chido, at the military airbase 181 in Sainte Marie in Reunion Island, France, December 17, 2024. (Reuters)

Authorities in Mayotte were racing on Tuesday to get food and water to residents stricken by the weekend's devastating cyclone and fighting to stop hunger, disease and lawlessness spreading in the French overseas territory, officials said.

Hundreds or even thousands could be dead in the wreckage of Cyclone Chido, they said. The storm laid waste to large parts of the archipelago off east Africa, which is France's poorest overseas territory.

With many areas still inaccessible, it could take days to determine the full extent of damage and deaths. So far, 22 deaths and more than 1,400 injuries have been confirmed, Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, the mayor of the capital Mamoudzou, told Radio France Internationale on Tuesday morning.

"The priority today is water and food," Soumaila said. "There are people who have unfortunately died where the bodies are starting to decompose that can create a sanitary problem."

"We don't have electricity. When night falls, there are people who take advantage of that situation."

Rescue workers have been searching for survivors amid the debris of shantytowns that were bowled over by 200 kph (124 mph) winds.

Several people have been rescued in Mamoudzou, Sitti-Rouzat Soilhi, a communications officer for the city government, told Reuters, adding that more than 700 security personnel had been mobilized to aid residents and reinforce security.

French President Emmanuel Macron said after an emergency cabinet meeting on Monday evening that he would visit Mayotte in the "coming days".

Mayotte is a major destination for undocumented immigrants from the nearby Comoros islands, of which Moroni is the capital, and has been grappling with unrest in recent years. More than three-quarters of its roughly 321,000 people live in relative poverty.

Chido was the strongest storm to strike Mayotte in more than 90 years, French weather service Meteo France said.