Erdogan says Haniyeh's Assassination Aims to Undermine Palestinian Cause

“This assassination aims to undermine the noble resistance of Gaza and the righteous struggle of Palestinians,” Erdoğan said in a statement on X.

Erdoğan likened the intention of the attack to previous attacks on Gazan political figures like Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, saying, "The ambitions of Zionist barbarism will once again be unsuccessful, just as they have been in the past."

Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, died in an Israeli strike in Iran on Wednesday while he was there for the country's new president's inauguration.

Israel has not commented on the attack, but many countries have warned that it will have a major impact on efforts to bring a cease-fire in the Gaza war.

Erdoğan emphasized the importance of a stronger stance from the Muslim world and humanity's alliance to end Israel's tyranny and terrorism in Gaza. He pledged to support Palestinians and maintain Ankara's commitment to a sovereign, independent Palestinian state with 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry earlier stated that Israel's actions aim to escalate the war in Gaza to a regional scale, and if the international community doesn't intervene to stop Israel, the entire region will face much larger conflicts.

"Once again, it has become clear that the Netanyahu government has no intention of reaching peace," the ministry said.

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş also issued a condolence message, condemning the assassination of the Hamas leader.

Source: HDN