Turkish first lady urges Melania Trump to speak out on Gaza

First lady Melania Trump waves as she and U.S. President Donald Trump depart the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

ISTANBUL — Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan has written to U.S. President Donald Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, and urged her to contact Israel’s prime minister and raise the plight of children in Gaza, authorities in Ankara said on Saturday.

Emine Erdogan wrote that she had been inspired by the letter Melania Trump sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month about children in Ukraine and Russia.

“I have faith that the important sensitivity you have shown for the 648 Ukrainian children ... will be extended to Gaza as well,” Emine Erdogan wrote in the letter dated Friday that was published by the Turkish presidency.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“These days, when the world is experiencing a collective awakening and the recognition of Palestine has become a global will. I believe that your call on behalf of Gaza would fulfill a historic responsibility toward the Palestinian people,” Emine Erdogan’s letter added.

A global hunger monitor determined on Friday that Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine, and it will likely spread, escalating pressure on Israel to allow more aid into the Palestinian territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed that report as an “outright lie,” and said Israel had a policy of preventing not causing starvation.

The Gaza war was triggered on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Andrew Heavens.