Türkiye to ensure those responsible for Gaza massacre face trial in international courts: Turkish president

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ISTANBUL (AA) – Türkiye will take steps to ensure that political and military leaders who 'ruthlessly' massacred people in Gaza face trial in the international courts, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.

Calling Israel a “terrorist state,” the Turkish leader accused Tel Aviv of implementing a strategy of destroying all of Gaza along with its residents.

Speaking at the Justice and Development (AK) Party’s parliamentary group meeting in Ankara, Erdogan addressed Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying: “You are threatening with an atomic bomb, a nuclear bomb. It does not matter what you have, you are a goner.”

If Israel continues its massacres, it will be seen everywhere in the world as a "universally condemned terrorist state," he added.

“We never hesitate to say that Hamas (is made up of) resistance fighters striving to protect their homeland, despite the discomfort it may cause some.”

Erdogan added he would also talk to the leaders of countries that abstained from voting on an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza at the UN.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 11,320 Palestinians have been killed, including nearly 7,800 women and children, and over 29,200 others have been injured, according to the latest figures from Palestinian authorities.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques, and churches, have been damaged or destroyed in the Israeli offensive.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, stands at 1,200, according to official figures.