Turkiye’s first lady Emine Erdogan has penned a letter to America’s first lady Melania Trump on Saturday, praising her for her support for children affected in Ukraine from Russia’s full-scale invasion, and has urged Trump to speak out for the children suffering in Gaza.
In the letter, Erdogan asked Trump to “extend the advocacy” to Palestinians.
First lady Erdogan wrote Gaza had become a “children’s cemetery” and called for unity and strength in the face of injustice, in the document published by the Turkish presidency, reports BBC.
This comes after the United Nations’s official declaration of famine in Gaza on Friday, with the famine report stating at least half a million people face catastrophic hunger, and 132,000 children’s lives are threatened by malnutrition.
Erdogan also encouraged Melania Trump to “show the same sensitivity to Gaza that you have shown to Ukrainian children who have lost their lives in the war”, and appeal directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to put an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
During the Alaska summit earlier this month, US President Donald Trump hand-delivered a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin from his wife, where she implored Putin to consider the children’s safety, but did not reference any specific children.
Though the Turkish first lady does not usually involve herself in politics, Emine Erdogan has written letters to the partners of world leaders in the past, most notably in 2016 on behalf of Syrians caught up in civil war and condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza in March.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has said the number of malnutrition-related is now 281, with 114 being children.
Israel denies there is famine in Gaza. The release of the famine report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) coincided with Israel announced their plans to intensify their military offensive aimed at occupying Gaza City.
The death toll in Gaza has risen to 62,122 in the last 22 months since October 7, 2023.