Erdogan labels Gaza war an ecocide at COP31 climate summit in Antalya

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the war in Gaza as both a genocide and an ecocide during his opening address at the Cop31 climate summit in Antalya on Wednesday. He said centuries-old olive trees had been cut down, soil and water had been contaminated, and cities had been reduced to enormous piles of rubble.

Erdogan said heavy rainfall and flooding had worsened humanitarian suffering in Gaza, leaving tens of thousands of tents and shelters submerged. He called for immediate humanitarian aid access to the Palestinian territory and an end to the policy of isolation.

“What has taken place in Gaza is not only a genocide, but it is also an ecocide.”

Addressing the broader climate crisis, Erdogan called climate change one of the deepest existential crises in humanity's history. He said humanity has only one sky, one Earth, and no other seas, oceans, or forests.

Israel's Foreign Ministry responded on X, accusing Erdogan of using an international forum to push what it called an anti-Israel campaign of lies. The ministry also said those who truly care about Gaza should demand that Hamas disarm so reconstruction can begin.

Israel was not invited to COP31. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously called Erdogan an antisemitic tyrant. Local health authorities in Gaza say Israel's offensive has killed more than 74,000 people, with women and children making up nearly half of the dead.

A UN-backed panel of independent experts concluded last year that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Israel vehemently denies the allegations and has accused the panel of antisemitism.