ALBAWABA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed that Turkey is among the leading countries pushing for dialogue and diplomacy to end the escalation in the Middle East, Anadolu Agency reported.
He condemned the attacks by Israel on schools and hospitals and referred to Tel Aviv as a "bloodthirsty network" that continues to strike schools and hospitals in Iran and Lebanon the same way it did during the Gaza war.
"A bloodthirsty network continues striking schools and hospitals in Iran and Lebanon as it did in Gaza," the Turkish president said while attending an iftar event held for the March 14 Medicine Day at Istanbul University's Faculty of Medicine.
Erdogan maintained, "Against this state of madness, Türkiye is among the leading countries defending humanity, advocating reason, and seeking solutions to crises through dialogue and diplomacy."
This picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency shows the site of a strike on a girls' school in Minab, in Iran's southern Hormozgan province, on February 28, 2026. Photo by ALI NAJAFI / ISNA / AFP
In addition, he added that during the Gaza war, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers were also targeted, with about 1,700 healthcare workers killed in Israel's "state terror."
Israel and the U.S. launched joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, killing over 1,200 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and more than 150 children, in a strike on a girls' elementary school in Minab, in southern Hormozgan province.
In response, Tehran launched drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries, which it says are targeting "U.S. military assets."
