Turkey declares 3-day of national mourning following hospital massacre in Gaza

Duvar English

Turkey has declared a three-day national mourning period following Israel's bombing of Gaza's Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Oct. 18 announced the move and said “As Turkey, we feel in our hearts the great pain experienced by our Palestinian brothers.”

“As a requirement of our respect for thousands of our martyrs, most of whom were children and innocent civilians, three days of national mourning have been declared in our country,” Erdoğan said in a social media post.

“In order to share the pain of the Palestinian people for those who lost their lives and were injured as a result of the attacks carried out by Israel against civilians, most recently on a hospital on Oct. 17, 2023, national mourning was declared for three days, and flags will be flown at half-mast in all our country and foreign embassies until sunset of Oct. 21, 2023,” he added.

Palestinian officials said the bombing at Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital killed 471 people. Israel claims it was caused by a failed rocket launch by Palestinian fighters, Reuters reported.