The Presidency's Head of Communications, Burhanettin Duran, attended the panel titled "Women Witnesses to Genocide: Media and Resistance in Gaza," organised by our Directorate.
Speaking at the panel, Head of Communications Duran emphasised that Israel has been committing unprecedented atrocities and genocides in Gaza for more than two years.
Head of Communications Duran acknowledged the extraordinary resilience and bravery of journalists in Gaza, especially female journalists, who diligently perform their duties despite being targeted during the genocide. He also recalled that they have made the book titled "Murdering the Truth: Israel's Campaign Against Journalism," which details the resistance of journalists who have been killed in Palestine, accessible to the international community in Turkish, English, and Arabic.
"Israel stands permanently condemned in the conscience of humanity"
Underlining that it has become clear that this multifaceted resistance has played a decisive role in bringing Israel’s dark and sinister face to the attention of the world, Head of Communications Duran said:
"Israel is now associated with occupation and genocide, with violations of humanitarian, moral, and legal principles, and with the extreme practices it has normalised. Most importantly, Israel now stands permanently condemned in the conscience of humanity and finds itself on trial before international courts. As Türkiye, we have extended our strong support to the Palestinian resistance. In this context, we imposed direct sanctions on Israel, severed diplomatic relations and halted trade. From the very beginning of this process, we mobilised every diplomatic instrument. In every international forum he attended, in his bilateral meetings and official engagements, our President has conveyed to his counterparts the oppression inflicted on Palestine by Israel—and he continues to do so. Under the leadership of our President, Türkiye’s efforts undoubtedly played a critical role in securing the ceasefire. In this context, we have witnessed both our President’s dedication and the First Lady's devoted efforts. Within the framework of the “Unified for Peace in Palestine” initiative, the First Lady hosted the first ladies and gentlemen of world leaders in İstanbul; she also wrote a letter to Melania Trump, calling on her to show the same sensitivity to the children and civilians of Gaza that she had shown to Ukrainian children.
Head of Communications Duran emphasised the necessity of establishing a dedicated section for media and communication, while mentioning the Palestinian cause, adding, "I would like to specifically acknowledge the efforts of journalists working in the field. In this sense, journalists operating in Gaza have transmitted to the world, at great risk to their lives, Israel's oppression and atrocities. We all understand that when I say "at great risk to their lives," I mean it literally."
"Her life and resistance profoundly touch our hearts"
Head of Communications noted that Israel targeted and killed nearly 300 journalists in Gaza—37 of whom were women—within the span of two years, and added:
"One of them was Alaa Al-Hams, a female journalist. Her life and resistance profoundly touch our hearts. Alaa's family had to take shelter in a refugee camp when Israel occupied their village in 1948. Like countless Palestinians, she endured a lifetime of adversity in her own homeland. Indeed, her microphone and her pen have become symbols of her resistance. Alaa lost 10 family members in the Israeli attack; she was also injured. She had shared the following post on social media as a tribute to her martyred family: 'Were you in a hurry, or was I too slow? If only you had counted me in in your final gathering?"' Shortly after this post, she was martyred with her unborn baby after an Israeli airstrike on her house. I hereby commemorate, with mercy, each of my journalist brothers and sisters who were martyred while conveying the truth to the world. I pray for the speedy recovery of those injured."
Head of Communications Duran drew attention to the fact that Israel deliberately targeted journalists, stating:
"Journalists lost their families and their colleagues with whom they worked shoulder to shoulder. They were deprived of food and water, yet they never gave up on one thing: conveying the truth to the world and telling the Palestinian cause to all humanity. And indeed, they succeeded. But, despite what, did they succeed? They succeeded despite the different attitudes of certain Western-centred international media outlets throughout this process. These outlets systematically became propaganda instruments of genocide through disinformation, manipulation, blackout, and fabricated news. They attempted to legitimise the crimes committed by Israel. This was not limited to conventional media. In digital media as well, pro-Israeli practices have gone down in history as documents of shame. Social media companies erected digital walls to silence the voices of Palestinians by using algorithms as weapons.”
Noting also the presence of media organisations and journalists who defended the truth of Palestine against outlets that defended the killers and ignored the genocide, Head of Communications Duran continued, “There were media organisations that stood by their colleagues in Gaza. Above all, there were journalists who risked their lives. There were Palestinian journalists, and there were women journalists. And, just like many media institutions around the world, our own outlets—led by TRT and Anadolu Agency—mobilised to convey the Palestinian cause. They revealed Israel's occupation policies to the international community through firsthand testimonies on the ground. As in conventional media, I especially thank all the press members and journalists that strive to break Israel's influence in digital media and are dedicated to disseminating the truth."
Emphasising an important point, Head of Communications Duran said, "The Gaza genocide has also demonstrated that digital sovereignty can no longer be considered separate from national security. With this perspective, we are conducting efforts to strengthen our national data infrastructure, domestic social media platforms, and domestic content networks."
In addition, Head of Communications Duran shared a post on his NSocial account regarding the "Women Witnesses to Genocide: Media and Resistance in Gaza" programme.
In his post, Head of Communications Duran said:
“At the ‘Women Witnesses to Genocide: Media and Resistance in Gaza’ panel, organised by the Presidency's Directorate of Communications, we addressed the inhumane attacks in Gaza, the resistance, and especially the sacrifices of women journalists.
We extend our gratitude to the First Lady, Emine Erdoğan, for honouring our programme with her presence.
The genocide Israel has been conducting in Gaza for more than two years has targeted not only innocent civilians but also journalists striving to convey the truth to the world. To date, nearly 300 journalists—37 of them women—have been killed. Despite this, the struggle to bear witness on the ground has never ceased.
Türkiye, under the leadership of our President, has stood by Palestine and mobilised all diplomatic and humanitarian channels; through sanctions and international initiatives against Israel, our country has played a critical role in shaping the ceasefire process.
While a significant portion of the Western media has turned genocide into a tool of propaganda through disinformation and manipulation, our Turkish media organisations—led by TRT and Anadolu Agency—have worked with great dedication to relay the truth from the field and have become the voice of Gaza.
The events in Gaza have once again demonstrated that digital sovereignty is an inseparable part of national security. In this regard, we are resolutely continuing our efforts to strengthen domestic social media platforms, national data infrastructure, and content networks.
Within the scope of the panel, we have also presented to the international public our book ‘Murdering the Truth: Israel’s Campaign Against Journalism’, which documents the struggle of journalists killed in Gaza, in Turkish, English, and Arabic.
On this occasion, I extend my gratitude to the media professionals and scholars who will share their views and assessments during the sessions, and to everyone who contributed to the preparation of our panel and our book.”
