Turkey’s First Lady Emine Erdogan has called on Melania Trump to speak out on behalf of children suffering in Gaza, urging the former US First Lady to extend the advocacy she showed for Ukrainian children to Palestinians enduring Israel’s war in the territory.
In a letter published by the Turkish presidency on Saturday, Erdogan described Gaza as a “children’s cemetery” and appealed for unity against what she termed “injustice.”
She praised Trump’s earlier support for children affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, asking her to “show the same sensitivity to Gaza that you have shown to Ukrainian children who have lost their lives in the war.”
“The phrase ‘unknown baby’ written on the shrouds of thousands of Gazan children opens irreparable wounds in our consciences,” Erdogan wrote, urging Trump to directly appeal to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end “the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”
Her appeal coincided with the release of a new UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, which confirmed famine in Gaza City and warned that over 640,000 people will face “catastrophic conditions” between mid-August and the end of September.
The report estimated that one in three children in Gaza are acutely malnourished and projected that up to June 2026, malnutrition will threaten the lives of 132,000 children under five. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reported that of 281 people who have died from malnutrition, 114 were children.
Israel has denied famine exists in Gaza, accusing IPC experts of bias, methodological changes, and reliance on Hamas-provided data. The IPC has rejected those claims.
The latest report came as Israel prepared for a fresh offensive aimed at occupying Gaza City. On Saturday, Gaza’s health ministry said 61 people had been killed in Israeli attacks within 24 hours, including eight deaths from malnutrition. In Khan Younis, a strike on a displacement camp reportedly killed 19 people, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following Hamas’s assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage. Since then, at least 62,122 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry. More than 90 percent of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed, while healthcare, water, sanitation, and hygiene systems have collapsed.
Although Emine Erdogan rarely comments on political matters, focusing more on environmental issues—a role that has earned her praise from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres—she has previously written letters to world leaders’ partners. In 2016, she appealed on behalf of Syrians trapped in civil war, and earlier this year, she condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza.
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