Hasan Turan, a member of Türkiye's Parliament and chairman of the Türkiye-Palestine Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, has described Israel's three-year military campaign in Gaza as “the atrocity of the century,” calling on the international community to move beyond statements of condemnation and impose concrete military, commercial and diplomatic sanctions on Israel.

In a statement marking three years since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, Turan said the Palestinian territory had been transformed into an “open-air prison” and Gaza into “death camps,” accusing Israel of carrying out mass killings and widespread destruction while the international community failed to adequately protect Palestinian civilians.

“The fact that tens of thousands of people have been subjected to mass killings and massacres before the eyes of the world in a manner unprecedented in the history of humanity is the atrocity of the century,” Turan said.

He said the scale of the destruction in Gaza could not be understood through statistics alone, stressing that behind every casualty was a Palestinian mother, father, child and family whose life had been shattered.

'Bombs have not fallen silent in Gaza'

Turan said the violence had continued for three years, with homes, hospitals, schools, universities, mosques and civilian infrastructure heavily damaged or destroyed.

“For three years the bombs have not fallen silent in Gaza,” he said, describing the continuing suffering of children, mothers and fathers as a profound humanitarian tragedy.

Citing figures he attributed to the Palestinian Health Ministry and the United Nations, Turan said 74,243 Palestinians had been killed and 175,232 injured since Oct. 7, 2023. He said the toll was likely to be significantly higher when people buried under rubble and those whose remains have not been fully recovered are included.

According to the figures cited by Turan, more than 21,000 children were among those killed, including more than 1,100 infants under one year old. Women and elderly Palestinians also accounted for thousands of the reported deaths.

Turan stressed that the deaths of so many children demonstrated the devastating impact of the war on an entire generation.

“Children are not parties to war. Children are not targets,” he said, arguing that the killing of children cannot be justified under any circumstances.

Calls for international sanctions

Turan urged the international community to take concrete measures against Israel, arguing that expressions of concern and condemnation were no longer sufficient.

He called for:

• Military, commercial and diplomatic sanctions against Israel;
• An immediate halt to arms transfers;
• An end to attacks against civilians and policies of occupation;
• Unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza;
• Independent international investigations into alleged war crimes and genocide;
• Accountability for those responsible; and
• Enforcement of decisions by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

“It's no longer the time for words, but for sanctions,” Turan said. “It's no longer the time for condemnation, but for concrete steps.”

He also urged governments to apply international law consistently and criticized what he described as double standards in the international system.

Gaza's destruction extends beyond the casualty figures

Turan said the physical devastation in Gaza was so extensive that the humanitarian consequences could not be captured by casualty figures alone.

Citing figures he attributed to United Nations data, he said the amount of rubble generated in Gaza had exceeded 68 million tons and warned that thousands of bodies and unexploded ordnance remained beneath the ruins.

He also cited figures on alleged violations of the ceasefire, saying the Israeli side had committed thousands of violations between October 2025 and October 2026.

The figures and accusations presented by Turan were part of his political statement and were not independently verified in the statement.

'The world must not forget Gaza'

Turan accused Western governments of providing Israel with political, military and diplomatic support despite the scale of civilian suffering in Gaza.

He said recognizing Palestine as a state was important but insufficient without concrete measures to protect Palestinians and enforce international law.

“The duty of the international community is not merely to issue statements saying ‘we are concerned,’” Turan said. “International law must be applied equally to everyone.”

He also called for Israel to be excluded from international sporting, artistic and scientific events, arguing that sustained international pressure was necessary to prevent further violations against Palestinians.

Türkiye pledges continued support for Palestine

Concluding his statement, Turan paid tribute to Palestinians who, despite the destruction of their homes and communities, continued to remain on their land.

He expressed condolences to Palestinian families who had lost loved ones and prayed for the victims, particularly children killed in Gaza.

Turan said Türkiye would continue supporting the Palestinian cause and defending Palestinian rights on international platforms under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

He called for an end to the occupation, the realization of Palestinian independence and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

“Gaza's issue is the common conscience issue of humanity,” Turan said, adding that the struggle for justice would continue until Palestinian rights were secured and Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem were liberated.

“Global goodness will definitely defeat global imperialism,” he said. (ILKHA)