A delegation comprising four opposition lawmakers from Turkey has traveled to Egypt to express their support for humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza and to conduct on-site inspections, also paying a courtesy call to Turkey’s ambassador in Cairo before visiting the Rafah border crossing, local media reported on Friday.
The delegation included the Islamic Felicity Party’s (SP) Ankara deputy Mesut Doğan, İstanbul MP Mustafa Kaya and Hatay deputy Necmettin Çalışkan, in addition to the Future Party’s (GP) Denizli lawmaker Sema Silkin Ün.
Before flying from İstanbul to Egypt, Doğan made a statement to the press on behalf of the delegation, saying bombs have been raining down on hospitals, schools and other civilian-populated areas in Palestine for the past 25 days.
The MP said that 9,097 Palestinians have lost their lives in the last 25 days, including 3,760 children and 2,326 women, citing data announced by the Palestinian Health Ministry on Nov. 2.
“It’s as if there is a state called Israel, and within that state, there is a small Palestinian community. The perception created suggests that these incidents are happening because the Palestinians are misbehaving. But in reality, there is no state called Israel. What exists is an occupying terror state named Israel. The true owners of that land are the Palestinians, and today the Palestinians as a whole are defending their country,” Doğan said.
The MP further said their goal is to take steps that will increase aid to Palestine and that they plan to reach Gaza from Egypt.
The lawmakers also paid a courtesy call to Salih Mutlu Şen, Turkey’s ambassador in Cairo, before their planned visit to the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
The Israeli army has intensified its air and ground assaults on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, which has been under airstrikes since the surprise attack in Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Oct. 7.
More than 10,000 people are reported to have been killed in the conflict since then, including over 1,400 Israelis.