Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on the Islamic world to take action against Israel in response to the latest deadly attack in the Gaza Strip.
Erdogan, 70, told MPs from his AKP party today that Israel was a threat to “all humanity”.
He said: ‘I have a few words to say to the Islamic world: what are you waiting for before you can make a common decision?’ Erdogan, who leads a Muslim-majority country of 85 million people, told lawmakers from his AKP party.
“Israel is a threat not only to Gaza, but to all humanity,” he said.
“No state is safe as long as Israel does not follow international law and does not feel bound by international law,” Erdogan added, repeating the accusation that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza.
He also called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “vampire” and accused him of killing “innocent civilians in their tents.” He also targeted the West for being “complicit” in the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Erdogan, 70, (pictured) told his AKP party lawmakers today that Israel was a threat to ‘all humanity’
Palestinians migrate, carrying their personal belongings, to areas they consider safe after the Israeli army attacked tents in Al-Mawasi
Erdogan also called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) a “vampire” and accused him of “murdering innocent civilians in their tents.”
“America, this blood is on your hands too. Heads of state in Europe, you have become complicit in Israel’s vampirism because you remained silent,” Erdogan said.
“No ideology considers the burning of innocent civilians in their tents as legitimate. The world is watching live the barbarity of this vampire called Netanyahu,” he added.
Erdogan’s fiery comments came as the U.N. Security Council met to discuss a deadly Israeli attack on a displaced persons camp west of Rafah on Tuesday that killed 21 people, according to a civil defense official in Hamas-run Gaza.
Nearly two dozen people were killed Tuesday in the attack on the tent camp west of the city, just days after 45 people were killed in an encampment for displaced Palestinians that burned to ashes.
Gaza health authorities said yesterday that the city’s second tent camp had been hit by Israeli tank shells, in an area Israel had designated as a civilian evacuation zone. The IDF denied attacking the al-Mawasi area, west of Rafah.
Palestinians mourn at makeshift tents after the Israeli shelling of a refugee tent camp in the al-Mawasi area west of Rafah
Despite the horror scenes, Israel appears keen to continue the fight, with a national security adviser openly admitting that the war with Hamas was likely to last until the end of the year.
Despite the horror scenes, Israel appears keen to continue the fight, with a national security adviser openly admitting that the war with Hamas was likely to last until the end of the year.
In an interview with Israeli public broadcaster KAN, Tzachi Hanegbi said on Wednesday that “we expect another seven months of fighting” to destroy the military and governance capabilities of Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group.
His comments came as Israel feels increasingly isolated on the world stage, nearly eight months into the war sparked by the October 7 Hamas attack, with even the United States and other close allies expressing outrage at the toll demanded of citizens.
Hanegbi defended continued Israeli operations in Rafah, on Gaza’s border with Egypt, saying the border had become a “smuggling kingdom” since Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007.
“Every rocket, every explosive device, every shot fired at Israel is the result of crossing that border,” he said.
He said Israel now controls about 75% of the narrow buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza, which was created as part of the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.
Egypt has expressed serious concerns about the Israeli offensive at Rafah, saying it threatens the peace treaty.