Erdogan Says Israel’s Strikes in Syria and Lebanon Threaten Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that “Israel’s attacks in Syria and Lebanon have reached the point where they also threaten Turkey. We see malicious initiatives led by Israel also in the Mediterranean Sea, no one should seek adventures there.” Erdogan also threatened Cyprus, saying, “Our response will be clear and strong if the rights of Turks and Turkish Cypriots are violated in the eastern Mediterranean. Israel’s aggression poses a threat to the entire world, it must be stopped.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Erdogan’s remarks, saying: “The antisemitic dictator Erdogan, who is committing genocide against the Kurds, supports Hamas, oppresses his people and jails political opponents, is the last one who can preach morality to the State of Israel. The State of Israel and the IDF, the most moral army in the world, will continue to act forcefully against Iran and its proxies, which threaten the Middle East and the entire world.”

On Sunday, for the first time in the main edition, footage from the Gaza Strip was published showing that מאז the ceasefire came into effect, Turkey has been bringing large-scale humanitarian aid into the Strip. This is a move that is completely contrary to a long list of promises and explicit statements made in recent weeks by the prime minister, the defense minister, and coalition members, according to which Turkey would have no foothold in Gaza. The footage reveals convoys of trucks carrying sacks of flour and humanitarian supplies from the World Food Program. On the official shipping documents that were revealed, the source line explicitly reads: Turkey.

The footage sparked great anger among cabinet members. Ministers in the government were surprised to learn of the shipments’ entry and quickly distanced themselves from the move. “We did not approve anything like this, and we did not know about it,” cabinet ministers said. Following the findings, an urgent inquiry was sent to the Prime Minister’s Office demanding to know who authorized the move, but as of now no response has been received.