Civil society representatives gathered in Siirt on the third anniversary of the October 7 Operation Al-Aqsa Flood to highlight the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine and the attacks on Gaza, emphasizing that the operation exposed the true scale of oppression and taught the world the meaning of resistance.

Speakers at the program — Orhan Ay, President of the Association of the Prophet Lovers; Mehmet Faruk Süzgün, President of the IHH Siirt Humanitarian Relief Association; Musa Doğrusever, President of the Önder Siirt Imam Hatip Association; and Abdulhakim Tekin, Siirt Provincial Chairman of HÜDA PAR — stressed the significance of October 7 as a turning point that revealed systematic injustice and inspired global awareness.

HÜDA PAR Siirt Provincial Chairman Abdulhakim Tekin underscored that occupation and genocide in Palestine long predated October 7. “The Al-Aqsa Flood was actually a cry against the ongoing genocide and massacres that had been continuing until that day. It was a scream of Muslims against the occupations and attempts at annihilation directed at the Palestinian people,” he said. Tekin described the operation as a means of announcing the existing oppression to the world and a divine warning to the Muslim ummah and humanity. He called on Muslims to recognize their power, stating that with sufficient will and effort, Palestine could be freed from the current oppression and genocide.

Orhan Ay, President of the Association of the Prophet Lovers, declared that the Al-Aqsa Flood taught resistance to the entire world and exposed the true face of the Zionist project. “Previously, they constantly claimed victimhood and genocide. This resistance showed that they are the source of seditions and wars, turning the world into a sea of blood for their interests,” Ay said. He argued that the operation shattered their arrogance and revealed their ambition to establish dominance over the Promised Land while enslaving humanity, noting that the Palestinian resistance had uncovered what had long been concealed through media.

Mehmet Faruk Süzgün, President of the IHH Siirt Humanitarian Relief Association, praised the steadfast Islamic stance of Gaza’s people. “Our brothers and sisters in Gaza showed us the true Muslim struggle. Our hearts are with them,” he said. Süzgün criticized the world’s prolonged silence in the face of genocide, occupation, and lawlessness, warning that this silence emboldens further crimes. He stressed that the threat extends beyond Gaza to Syria and other countries, endangering regional stability and the future of the world, and called on all of humanity — not only Muslims — to react against Israel.

Musa Doğrusever, President of the Önder Siirt Imam Hatip Association, said the Al-Aqsa Flood became a catalyst for Muslim awakening. He noted that after years of enduring oppression without harming others, the people of Gaza were forced to defend themselves and demonstrated the power and honor of Muslim resistance. “Praise be to Allah, this resistance movement perhaps also became a means for the awakening of us Muslims,” he said. Doğrusever added that the world has now seen the innocence of Gaza’s people and the cruelty of Israel. He concluded by sending greetings to the people of Gaza, praying for the healing of the wounded, paradise for the martyrs, and the liberation of Jerusalem for all.

The speakers collectively framed the Al-Aqsa Flood as a historic act of resistance that shattered silence, exposed oppression, and called for renewed solidarity with the Palestinian cause. (ILKHA)