Cohen met Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and the duo held a joint news conference. The minister tweeted earlier that he would also meet President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Cohen was also scheduled to visit Kahramanmaraş and met Israeli search and rescue crews there.

At the joint news conference, Cohen said, "On behalf of the government and people of Israel, we offer our heartfelt condolences and support to those who were affected by this tragic event."

He said he was receiving hundreds of phone calls from people of Israel and organizations to help Türkiye or to shelter Turkish people.

"We stand in solidarity with Turkish people and we will do all we can to provide help," he said.

"Israel was among the first nations to send rescue teams to Türkiye in the first 24 hours," he highlighted. "We brought hundreds of pieces of medical equipment and set up a field hospital," he added.

"Our two nations have a long history of friendship and cooperation. Türkiye helped Israel during the fire in the Carmel mountains 11 years ago. You sent your planes and we thank you again," he said, reiterating Türkiye's past support of Israel when it faced disasters.

Cohen added that Israeli airline firms would also resume direct flights to Türkiye as a mark of a continued improvement in bilateral relations. The first such flight will depart on Thursday, Cohen told reporters during what he described as a "solidarity visit to Türkiye."

“Israel stands by Turkiye during this devastating time and will continue to assist it through the activity of our forces and by providing humanitarian aid,” he tweeted after his arrival to Türkiye.

Israel sent search and rescue crews to the country in the immediate aftermath of the disasters. Most recently, a crew from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) completed their work on the field and returned to Israel. Israel also set up a mobile hospital in Kahramanmaraş, staffed by Israeli personnel treating the injured.

Noting that the two diplomats also discussed bilateral ties, Çavuşoğlu said: “Our relations have entered a new phase. We have mutually appointed ambassadors once again and high-level visits have occurred. We will continue to exert our best efforts to improve ties on the basis of reciprocal interest and respect."

Türkiye’s top diplomat reiterated that Israel sent one of the biggest search and rescue teams consisting of 450 personnel.

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