{"id":15635,"date":"2026-11-12T04:28:16","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T04:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=15635"},"modified":"2026-11-12T04:28:16","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T04:28:16","slug":"turkeys-president-calls-war-in-gaza-ecocide-at-un-climate-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=15635","title":{"rendered":"Turkey’s president calls war in Gaza ‘ecocide’ at UN climate summit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the COP31 U.N. Climate Summit, Nov. 11, in Antalya, Turkey. AP-Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called for the world to recognize the environmental impacts of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and asked the Israeli government to grant more aid access to the Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n

Erdogan was speaking at the U.N. climate summit, known as COP31, in Antalya, Turkey.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat has taken place in Gaza is not only a genocide, but it is also an ecocide,\u201d Erdogan said to applause by world leaders and other climate envoys.<\/p>\n

A U.N.-backed panel of independent experts concluded last year that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Israel vehemently denies the allegations and has accused the panel of antisemitism.<\/p>\n

\u201cCenturies old olive trees have been cut down. The soil and water have been polluted in Gaza, and cities in Gaza have been turned into enormous piles of rubble,\u201d Erdogan said. \u201cWith Gaza\u2019s destroyed infrastructure, compounded by torrential rain and by flooding, tens of thousands of tents and shelters have been inundated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded in a post on X, accusing Erdogan of \u201cusing an international forum to push his anti-Israel campaign of lies\u201d and of supporting Hamas. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza following attacks by Hamas-led militants in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Militants killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who truly care about Gaza should demand that Hamas disarm so reconstruction can begin,\u201d the statement read. Israel wasn’t invited to COP31.<\/p>\n

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Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the COP31 U.N. Climate Summit, Nov. 11, in Antalya, Turkey. AP-Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Israel\u2019s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 74,000 people, according to local health authorities, and destroyed much of Gaza. The Health Ministry, part of Gaza\u2019s Hamas-run government, doesn\u2019t distinguish between civilians and combatants, but says women and children make up nearly half of the dead.<\/p>\n

Erdogan has been an outspoken critic of Israel, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called Erdogan an antisemitic \u201ctyrant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe latest country to become a superspreader of antisemitic lies is Turkey,” Netanyahu said in September while speaking at the U.N. General Assembly.<\/p>\n

In recent days, heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding destroyed many of the tents and makeshift shelters that Palestinian residents now live in. At least four people were killed earlier this week when a sand embankment collapsed on their shelter. The rain also left many displaced people without food, drinking water or a dry place to sleep.<\/p>\n

Humanitarian aid enters the territory, but imports remain far below levels before the start of the Israel-Hamas war \u2014 and many items remain blocked by Israel.<\/p>\n

A 2025 report by the U.N. Environment Program also outlined the devastating reality of Gaza\u2019s environment since the war began.<\/p>\n

Remote sensing assessments showed that by May 2025, more than 97 percent of the tree crops, 82 percent of annual crops, 95 percent of shrubland and 89 percent of grass and fallow land had been damaged, according to the UNEP report.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs of now, our families only have 3% of cropland to use, and that is assuming it\u2019s distributed across 2 million Palestinians” in the Gaza Strip, said Mohammed Usrof, co-founder and executive director of the Palestinian Institute for Climate Strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot talking about these losses undermines Palestinians\u2019 food supply, livelihoods and ability to remain on their land,\u201d Usrof said.<\/p>\n

The territory\u2019s ability to dispose of garbage, treat sewage and deliver clean water has been virtually decimated by three years of war. This has made grim living conditions worse and raised health risks for hundreds of thousands of people deprived of adequate shelter, food and medicine, aid groups say.<\/p>\n

The conflict has \u201call but eliminated\u201d Gazan fishing livelihoods, the report said, highlighting how marine ecosystems have been contaminated with munitions, sewage and solid waste.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor people in Gaza, this translates into severely limited access to safe drinking water, greater exposure to waterborne diseases and toxic substances, deepening food insecurity and the loss of livelihoods dependent on agriculture and fishing,\u201d Ghiwa Nakat, executive director at Greenpeace MENA, told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Nakat also warned that Gaza’s environment could take years to recover.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe environmental damage will not end when the war ends,\u201d Nakat said. \u201cContaminated soil and groundwater, destroyed ecosystems and the collapse of essential environmental infrastructure could undermine public health, food security and livelihoods for generations, threatening communities\u2019 resilience and their ability to recover.\u201d<\/p>\n

World leaders began formal talks at COP31 this week, seeking agreement on concrete steps to curb global warming after a year of deadly floods, heat waves and other climate-related disasters.<\/p>\n

More than 70 world leaders and senior government officials are speaking at the summit, though some key leaders are absent, including heads of state from the United States, China and India.<\/p>\n

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Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the COP31 U.N. Climate Summit, Nov. 11, in Antalya, Turkey. AP-Yonhap Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called for the world to recognize the environmental impacts of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and asked the Israeli government to grant more aid access to the Palestinian territory. Erdogan…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-korea","category-trending-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t