Chicago – August 24, 2025
Turkey’s first lady has urged Melania Trump to speak out for children suffering in Israel’s war in Gaza. Emine Erdogan praised the US first lady’s support for children affected by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, asking Trump to “extend the advocacy” to Palestinians.
In a letter published by the Turkish presidency on Saturday, Mrs Erdogan said Gaza had become a ‘”children’s cemetery”, telling Mrs Trump: “We must unite our voices and strength against this injustice.”
It comes as UN-backed food security experts have assessed half a million people are suffering from famine in Gaza City – and 132,000 children’s lives are threatened by malnutrition.
The letter calls on Mrs Trump to “show the same sensitivity to Gaza that you have shown to Ukrainian children who have lost their lives in the war”.
Mrs Erdogan also encouraged Mrs Trump to appeal directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza”. Earlier this month, Mrs Trump sent Russian President Vladimir Putin a letter, imploring him to consider children.
The Turkish first lady does not usually involve herself in politics, more often choosing to be active in environmental issues – which has earned her praise from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
But Mrs Erdogan has written letters to the partners of world leaders in the past, in 2016 on behalf of Syrians caught up in civil war and condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza in March.
The letter was published in the wake of a damning report into the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
