An Israeli soldier carries a tank shell in a staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip on August 7, 2014.
Ankara, Turkey:
Four Palestinians who were seriously wounded during Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip arrived in Turkey for treatment in Ankara hospitals, with more expected to come, state media and officials said on Monday.
Three women and a teenage boy were flown out of Tel Aviv on a Turkish air ambulance and were received at Ankara airport by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu early Monday, the Anatolia news agency said.
"In the first stage, we plan to bring to Turkey around 200 patients for treatment," Davutoglu was quoted as saying by the Anatolia.
"We are doing whatever we can to take in as many patients as possible," he later wrote on Twitter, where he shared pictures of himself and his wife talking to the wounded Palestinians.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who sees himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause, announced the move on Sunday during his victory speech after becoming Turkey's first president elected by popular vote.
A fresh 72-hour ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect in Gaza Monday on the 33rd day of a conflict between Israel and Hamas that has killed more than 2,000 people.
Three women and a teenage boy were flown out of Tel Aviv on a Turkish air ambulance and were received at Ankara airport by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu early Monday, the Anatolia news agency said.
"In the first stage, we plan to bring to Turkey around 200 patients for treatment," Davutoglu was quoted as saying by the Anatolia.
"We are doing whatever we can to take in as many patients as possible," he later wrote on Twitter, where he shared pictures of himself and his wife talking to the wounded Palestinians.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who sees himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause, announced the move on Sunday during his victory speech after becoming Turkey's first president elected by popular vote.
A fresh 72-hour ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect in Gaza Monday on the 33rd day of a conflict between Israel and Hamas that has killed more than 2,000 people.
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