ISTANBUL 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently spoke by phone with his US counterpart Joe Biden, during which key issues surrounding the crisis in Gaza were discussed, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said Thursday. 

“The most fundamental issue during this period is the brutality, genocide and oppression taking place in Gaza by Israel. Here, our esteemed president once again revealed his theses and the truth, which he repeated strongly in front of the whole world,” said Altun, speaking to Turkish news channel NTV.

“He emphasized that 19,000 people have died, with two-thirds being women and children. In this regard, our president urgently called for an immediate cease-fire in an environment where schools, hospitals, churches and mosques are bombed and such a large-scale massacre is ongoing.”

Altun stressed that since the beginning of Israel's attacks on Gaza on Oct. 7, President Erdogan has pursued very strong diplomacy for peace.

He also drew attention to Israel's disinformation campaigns targeting Palestine.

"Since Oct. 7, Israel has been attempting to not only kill civilians, including innocent women, children, the elderly, journalists, health care workers and UN personnel, but also the truth. They are persistently pursuing the politics of lying in front of the world's eyes,” he said.

Altun emphasized that the Palestinian cause is a global struggle for justice, not just for the Palestinian people, noting that the UN could not prevent Israel's attacks on Gaza.

During their call, President Erdogan told Biden that it is America's "historical responsibility" to ensure a permanent cease-fire in Gaza as soon as possible.

He said a cease-fire could be achieved quickly if the US withdrew its "unconditional support" for Israel.

Erdogan told Biden that the human tragedy in Gaza should be stopped and warned that the deepening and prolongation of Israel's attacks could have "negative regional and global consequences."

He underlined the need for the establishment of a guarantor mechanism, as suggested by Türkiye, to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

President Erdogan stressed that the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital based on the 1967 borders is "the most reasonable and permanent solution."