ANKARA, Turkey (BN24) — Turkey’s first lady Emine Erdogan has appealed to Melania Trump, urging the former U.S. first lady to raise her voice for children caught in Israel’s war in Gaza.
In a letter published Saturday by the Turkish presidency, Erdogan praised Trump’s previous advocacy for children affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called on her to “extend the advocacy” to Palestinians.
“Gaza has turned into a children’s cemetery,” Erdogan wrote, adding, “We must unite our voices and strength against this injustice.”
The letter was released as a United Nations–backed food security assessment reported that half a million people are experiencing famine in Gaza City. The report warned that 132,000 children face life-threatening malnutrition.
“The phrase ‘unknown baby’ written on the shrouds of thousands of Gazan children opens irreparable wounds in our consciences,” Erdogan said in her appeal. She also encouraged Trump to directly urge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the humanitarian crisis.
Erdogan’s letter follows Melania Trump’s recent correspondence to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which Trump asked him to consider the plight of children affected by war. Trump did not refer to specific victims in that letter.
While Emine Erdogan is typically known for her environmental activism—a role that has drawn praise from U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres—she has previously written appeals to spouses of world leaders. In 2016, she addressed the Syrian conflict, and in March she condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The latest letter coincides with a grim report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which confirmed famine in Gaza City and predicted catastrophic conditions for more than 640,000 people through September. One in three children in Gaza is already acutely malnourished, the report found, with projections of worsening conditions through 2026.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, 114 of the 281 people who have died from malnutrition so far are children. The ministry also reported that 61 people were killed in the past 24 hours from Israeli attacks, with eight more—including two children—dying from hunger-related causes.
Israel has rejected claims of famine, accusing the IPC of bias and of relying on data provided by Hamas. IPC experts have dismissed those allegations.
The crisis deepens as Israel prepares for a new military offensive to seize control of Gaza City. Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that 19 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a displacement camp in Khan Younis on Friday.
The war, triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has left more than 62,000 people dead in Gaza, according to health officials. The conflict has displaced nearly the entire population, destroyed most homes, and devastated Gaza’s healthcare, sanitation and water systems.
Credit: BBC
