Erdogan at UN climate summit calls Gaza war an ecocide; Israel rejects remarks

Turkish President Erdogan at the UN climate summit in Antalya accused Israel of ecocide and genocide in Gaza, citing environmental destruction. Israel's Foreign Ministry dismissed the remarks as a campaign of lies and blamed Hamas for the devastation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used the UN climate summit (COP31) in Antalya on Wednesday to accuse Israel of committing ecocide in Gaza alongside genocide. He described centuries-old olive trees cut down, polluted soil and water, and cities turned to rubble. Israel's Foreign Ministry responded by calling Erdogan a dictator pushing a campaign of lies and stating that Hamas, hosted in Turkey, is responsible for the devastation. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also spoke at the summit, accusing the US and Israel of severe environmental damage from attacks on Iran, claiming 500,000 tonnes of CO2 from a gas field strike and one million tons from fuel depot strikes, though specifics could not be independently verified. The article notes that several oil spills have been detected off Gulf coasts.