A panel discussion titled “Blockade and Starvation in Gaza: A Silently Operating Genocidal Mechanism” will take place today at 2:00 p.m. at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University’s (AYBÜ) Milli İrade Campus Grand Conference Hall.

Organized by the Turkish Human Rights and Equality Institution (TİHEK), the Ankara Palestine Solidarity Platform (ANFIDAP), and AYBÜ, the event will examine the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza through the lenses of international law, human rights, and humanitarian law.The panel will feature opening remarks from ANFIDAP Spokesperson İsmail Mansur Özdemir, AYBÜ Rector Prof. Dr. Ali Cengiz Köseoğlu, and TİHEK President Prof. Dr. Fahrettin Altun. Speakers will highlight the Gaza blockade’s role as a form of collective punishment and the systematic use of starvation as a genocidal tool.

Moderated by TİHEK Vice President Muhammet Ecevit Çartı, the session will include presentations from prominent figures:

-Dr. Ammar Al-Dwaik, Director of the Independent Commission for Human Rights in Palestine, will discuss “The Crime of Genocide and the Erosion of International Legal Norms.”

-Yusuf Özhan, Deputy Director General of Anadolu Agency, will present “Evidence: Proof of the Gaza Genocide.”

-Şükrü Can, Deputy Secretary General of the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay), will address “Starvation as a Method of Genocide.”

-Hasan Bozdaş, Lecturer and ANFIDAP Advisory Board member, will explore “The Politics of Starvation in Gaza and the Positioning of International Activism.”

-Dr. Hasan Basri Bülbül from Boğaziçi University Faculty of Law will present “Saving UNRWA: The Humanitarian Activities of the UN in Palestine in Light of the ICJ’s 2025 Advisory Opinion.”

The event will conclude with a question-and-answer session and a group photo. The panel aims to shed light on the ongoing crisis in Gaza and foster discussion on international responses to the humanitarian situation. (ILKHA)