President Erdogan: We are soon closing the lock in Operation Claw Lock area.

President Erdogan spoke at the National Defense University Graduation Ceremony, without breaking the current HTML. Erdogan, who described Israel's killing of innocent civilians in Gaza as "genocide," also gave important messages about the fight against terrorism.

"WE ARE CLOSING THE LOCK SOON"

Erdogan, who said, "While working to resolve the crises in our region, we do not disregard the security of our homeland and our citizens. We are a country that has paid a great price against the separatist terrorist organization for 40 years," said, "We did not leave this country, which was made a homeland with the blood of martyrs, to the lowlifes. We have achieved significant successes in the fight against terrorism. The separatist organization cannot carry out any actions within our borders. We are behind them with our soldiers, police, gendarmerie, and intelligence officers. We are dealing serious blows to the terrorist organization. We are closing the lock very soon in the Claw Operation area. We are determined not to allow any structure that poses a threat to our country on the Iraq and Syria line. We must definitely dry up the swamp of terrorism. Our Turkey Century vision symbolizes the ideal of ending the curse of terrorism. We will implement this ideal step by step. We are determined and resolute. We are also aware of the obstacles."

"NOT A WAR, BUT GENOCIDE IN GAZA"

Erdogan also described the killing of innocent civilians by Israeli soldiers in Gaza as "genocide." Erdogan said, "Words are no longer enough to describe the massacre in Gaza. No principles, rules, or red lines of the laws of war were taken into account. What has been happening since October 7th is not a war. It is a direct genocide that we witness in Gaza. As Israel seeks to secure itself by occupying more land, no country can feel 100% safe. While showing our strongest reaction to oppression, we are making intense efforts to open the way for a lasting peace. Our desire is for a ceasefire to be declared soon so that the people of Gaza can breathe a little. I expressed this to my counterparts at the NATO Summit."