Failure to stop Israeli attacks on Gaza a shame for humanity: Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has once again condemned the West's failure to stop Israel's relentless attacks on Palestine's Gaza, calling it a "shame for humanity".

“History will duly judge those responsible for causing this hideous scene, those who have tried to legitimise it, and those who have turned a blind eye to it," Erdogan said, speaking at the Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Awards ceremony in Ankara on Wednesday.

"It is a shame for humanity that so many prominent states are powerless in the face of Israel's brutal attacks predicated on massacre and theft," the Turkish president added.

Erdogan then expressed hope that "2024 will be the year when the oppressors receive the punishment they deserve, and the wounds of the oppressed are healed."

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since the October 7 attack by Hamas, killing at least 19,667 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 52,586 others, according to health authorities in the enclave.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, while more than 130 hostages remain in captivity.