ISTANBUL: Turkiye will make efforts to rebuild damaged infrastructure, hospitals and schools in Gaza if a ceasefire is achieved there, Turkish media reported President Tayyip Erdogan as saying on Saturday.

“If a ceasefire is reached, we will do whatever is necessary to compensate for the destruction caused by Israel,” Erdogan told reporters on his plane returning from a trip to Berlin, where he held talks with German leaders.

“We will make efforts to rebuild the damaged infrastructure in Gaza and rebuild the destroyed schools, hospitals, water and energy facilities,” he was cited as saying by broadcaster A Haber on its website.

Earlier this week Erdo­gan called on Prime Minis­ter Benjamin Netanyahu to announce whether Israel had nuclear weapons and he returned to the issue in his comments to reporters, calling for nuclear weapons inspections there.

“As Turkiye, we are making this call. Israel’s nuclear weapons must be inspected beyond doubt before it is too late.

We will follow up on this,“ he said.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2023