The Presidency's Head of Communications, Fahrettin Altun, condemned the Israeli attack on the TRT crew in Gaza.
In his social media post, Altun highlighted that Israel has also targeted journalists, using the following statements:
"I condemn the attack on the TRT crew, who were directly targeted by Israeli snipers while reporting that there is no more space left even in the cemeteries in Gaza. Israel will certainly be held accountable for its genocidal crimes as well as its attacks and massacres against TRT and other journalists who opened a 'communication corridor' connecting Gaza to the rest of the world. I wish a quick recovery to TRT reporter Sami Barhoum and the entire TRT family."
The Israeli military targeted a vehicle transporting TRT Arabi crew in what it claimed was a "safe area" of Khan Younis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip.
TRT Arabi Gaza Correspondent Sami Barhoum said that Israeli forces targeted their vehicle in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, despite the fact that they had a press sign on them.
Barhoum stated, "For the fourth time since the beginning of the war, we have been targeted despite having a press vehicle, helmet, and vest. We travelled to a location north of Khan Younis that Israel claims is safe and has a significant concentration of displaced Palestinians to report."
Barhoum claimed that they were targeted by Israeli snipers stationed in the hills, saying, "They fired both at and around the vehicle. After we moved 5 metres away from the vehicle, they continued shooting for about 15 minutes."
Barhoum emphasised that there is no safe area in Gaza, stating that "Israeli soldiers target directly without warning. They attacked our vehicle directly, targeting the windscreen and our cameraman."