ISTANBUL: Turkiye will declare three days’ mourning over a deadly strike on a hospital in war-torn Gaza that killed hundreds, a Turkish official told AFP on Wednesday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a fervent supporter of the Palestinian cause, has accused Israel of “striking a hospital sheltering women, children and innocent civilians” and urged the world to stop the tragedy in Gaza.
Israel and Palestinian militants have accused each other of the attack.
“Turkiye will declare three days national mourning,” the official who wished to remain anonymous told AFP.
Ozlem Zengin of Erdogan’s ruling AKP party said that the national mourning would be declared under a presidential decree.
“It is important to show at what level we perceive this issue,” she was quoted as saying by the private NTV broadcaster.
Erdogan on Tuesday condemned the strike as “the latest example of Israeli attacks devoid of the most basic human values,” in a message on social media.
AKP party spokesman Omer Celik said Turkiye’s declaration of three days’ mourning would a show of solidarity with the innocent Palestinians in Gaza.
“We share the same pain, the same sorrow,” he told reporters at a weekly press conference. He accused Israel of the strike on the hospital, he said.
Large crowds joined demonstrations in Istanbul and the Turkish capital Ankara late Tuesday, shouting pro-Palestinian chants.
Israel has told its citizens to leave Turkiye “as soon as possible” amid fears of reprisal attacks.
Turkiye to declare 3 days’ mourning over Gaza hospital strike
https://arab.news/yvpd4
Turkiye to declare 3 days’ mourning over Gaza hospital strike
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel of “striking a hospital sheltering women, children and innocent civilians”
- AKP party spokesman Omer Celik said Turkiye’s declaration of three days’ mourning would a show of solidarity with the innocent Palestinians in Gaza
Iran’s new supreme leader ‘safe and sound’ despite war injury reports: president’s son
TEHRAN: Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is "safe and sound" despite reports of an injury during the war with Israel and the United States, said the son of the Iranian president on Wednesday.
"I heard news that Mr Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I have asked some friends who had connections. They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound," said Yousef Pezeshkian, who is also a government adviser, in a post on his Telegram channel.
State television had called Khamenei a "wounded veteran of the Ramadan war" but never specified his injury.
The new supreme leader is the son and successor of the Islamic republic's longtime ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 which triggered a war across the Middle East.
The 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei, a discreet figure who has rarely appeared in public or spoken at official events, has yet to address the nation or issue a written statement since he was declared supreme leader on Sunday.
In a Wednesday report, the New York Times quoting three unnamed Iranian officials said that Khamenei "had suffered injuries, including to his legs, but that he was alert and sheltering at a highly secure location with limited communication".
