As the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), we are watching with deep sadness and concern the Hamas-Israel war, which began with the attack of the armed wing of Hamas, Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades on 7 October 2023 targeting civilians in Israel and Israeli airstrikes on Gaza after this attack.
It is indicated that on the tenth day of the war which targeted civilians, 2,750 Palestinians, including 750 children, lost their lives, while in Israel, the death toll was over 1,300. Israel, which it noted that it is preparing for a land operation, continues to bomb the Gaza Strip while giving Palestinian civilians living in the blockaded Gaza Strip time to move to the south.
As the Presidium of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), representing the Turkish community in Western Thrace living in Europe, we condemn the terrorism, attacks and violence targeting civilians in the Hamas-Israel War, and offer our deepest condolences to all civilians who lost their lives in the war.
United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese, warned in her statement on 14 October 2023 that Palestinians are at risk of mass ethnic cleansing and she further called on the international community to urgently mediate to achieve a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
It is clear that there will be no winner in a war in which civilians are targeted and killed. We demand that the warning of the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine be taken into account by the international community, and we call on the international community to take action for peace, to provide humanitarian aid and a ceasefire for transit in the Gaza Strip and to release the hostages.
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