Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives to address the 81st United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York on Sept. 22, 2026. (Credit: Charly Triballeau/AFP)
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the world must immediately start the reconstruction of the devastated Gaza Strip.
"We must begin the reconstruction of Gaza immediately," he told the United Nations General Assembly, urging world leaders to "exert greater pressure on Israel."
The Israeli war on Gaza had left by October 2025 84 percent of all structures damaged or destroyed, UN figures show. Despite a US-brokered cease-fire in October 2025, Israel has continued its airstrikes and restricted entry of equipment that international NGOs say are needed for the territory's reconstruction, which has yet to begin.
According to a joint assessment published by the United Nations, the World Bank and the European Union in April, Gaza will require $71.4 billion in recovery and reconstruction spending over the next decade.
Erdogan also talked about the situation in the Black sea, saying that Ankara was continuing contacts with both Russia and Ukraine to help ensure navigational safety in the Black Sea. He added that attacks on commercial vessels there were unacceptable regardless of who carried them out.
Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, Erdogan said Turkey's hope was for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war while preserving Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
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