Türkiye’s parliament will convene in an extraordinary session on Friday to address the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where months of relentless Israeli aggression have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and plunged nearly two million people into famine.

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş announced that the assembly — currently in summer recess until October 1 — will interrupt its schedule in response to urgent calls from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the İYİ (Good) Party, which demanded that the voice of the Turkish people be heard and conveyed to the international community.

During the session, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will brief lawmakers on the latest field developments and Türkiye’s diplomatic initiatives aimed at halting what Ankara describes as the Israeli massacre in Gaza. Fidan is also expected to highlight Türkiye’s efforts to push for a permanent political solution that would end the oppression of the Palestinian people.

Fidan recently chaired an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah on August 25, where Muslim countries collectively issued a strong resolution condemning Israel’s war crimes and demanding accountability.

Since the beginning of Israel’s brutal assault in late 2023, Türkiye has emerged as one of the strongest voices on the global stage against Tel Aviv’s policies, consistently denouncing the killing of civilians and the deliberate starvation of Gaza’s population.

According to Palestinian health authorities, more than 63,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children, while two million people are on the brink of starvation due to Israel’s blockade on humanitarian aid. International experts, including UN agencies, have already warned that the situation amounts to genocide and engineered famine.

Türkiye’s extraordinary parliamentary session is expected to send a powerful message of solidarity with Palestine, while reinforcing Ankara’s call for immediate international action to end the bloodshed and lift the blockade. (ILKHA)