Türkiye condemns Israeli strike on Gaza cancer treatment facility

Türkiye strongly condemned Israel on Friday for destroying a Turkish-built cancer treatment facility in Gaza, calling the attack part of a deliberate strategy to make the Palestinian territory uninhabitable.

The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, which was constructed by Türkiye and operated by local authorities as a specialized cancer treatment center, was targeted in an Israeli strike, according to Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry.

“We strongly condemn Israel’s destruction of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, which was built by Türkiye and operated by local authorities as a cancer treatment facility,” the ministry said in a statement.

The statement, issued Friday, described the hospital bombing as part of what Türkiye sees as Israel’s broader objective of “forcibly displacing the Palestinian people” from Gaza.

‘Concrete and deterrent measures against Israel’

Turkish officials also called on the international community to respond with “concrete and deterrent measures against Israel’s unlawful attacks and systematic state terrorism.”

In unusually direct language, the ministry statement also suggested that Israeli leadership would face consequences: “All those responsible for the ongoing genocide in Palestine, including Netanyahu himself, will, sooner or later, be held accountable under international law.”

The hospital attack marks another flashpoint in increasingly strained Türkiye-Israel relations since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict. Türkiye has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

Israel has not immediately responded to Türkiye’s accusations regarding the hospital strike.

The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital was among the few specialized medical facilities in Gaza capable of providing cancer treatment to Palestinians before its destruction.