Israel causing environmental catastrophe in Gaza, Erdogan says at COP29

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday (November 12) Israel's attacks in Gaza were causing an environmental disaster.

Speaking at the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, Erdogan said those who are responsible for the environmental damage should be held to account at international courts.

More than 43,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza over the past year and Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland of wrecked buildings and piles of rubble where more than 2 million Gazans seek shelter as best they can.

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Israel denies accusations of a genocide, and says it is fighting Hamas militants responsible for the Oct 7. 2023 attacks in Israel that left over a thousand dead with hundreds taken hostage back into Gaza.

Separately, Erdogan said he hopes the parties at COP29 will reach a financing target that will support the needs of developing countries, which he said would further bolster global efforts against climate change.

Erdogan has previously called for countries historically responsible for higher carbon emissions to show more effort in reducing them and supporting other countries.

(Production: Ali Kucukgocmen)