At climate summit, Turkey, South Africa hit out at Israel over Gaza war

2/12/2023 7:25

        As the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed, some world leaders at the U.N. climate summit criticized Israel on Friday and called for the Gaza war
        to end, while U.S. and UK officials held meetings on the conflict on the gathering's sidelines.
        
        The war's prominence in speeches at the Dubai event served to highlight international divisions over the bloodshed andpresented a distraction for a summit where nations are trying to find consensus on the shared threat posed by climate change.
        
        "While discussing the climate crisis, we cannot ignore the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Palestinian territories right beside us," Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan told leaders during his formal speech to the COP28 conference.
        
        "The current situation in Gaza constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity; those responsible must be held accountable under international law," he said.