Mahmud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, announced Thursday that he would visit Gaza during a special session of the Turkish parliament.
Speaking at the time that the dead toll from Israel’s attack in the territory controlled by Hamas had surpassed 40,000, he was addressing officials from the health ministry.
Abbas responded to cheers from Turkish legislators by saying, “I have decided to go to Gaza with other brothers from the Palestinian leadership.”
Hamas, a violent Palestinian organization, controls the Gaza Strip, and Abbas is headquartered in Ramallah in the West Bank.
Everyone is prohibited from entering the enclave, with the exception of a few aid workers. Since Hamas came to power in 2007, Abbas has not visited Gaza.
“I’ll take care of that,” Abbas stated, expressing himself in Turkish after speaking Arabic.
