In the context of the deadly escalation in the Middle East, relations continue to become strained between Ankara and Tel Aviv. Turkey thus accused Israel on Monday, through its military strikes in Lebanon, of having “entered a new phase in its desire to lead the entire region to chaos.”
Intense Israeli strikes against Hezbollah left 492 dead on Monday in Lebanon, including 35 children, according to the authorities of this country, which experienced its deadliest day in nearly a year of exchanges of fire between the two sides on the sidelines of the war in Gaza.
An appeal to the UN Security Council
“It is imperative that all institutions responsible for maintaining international peace and security, particularly the UN Security Council, as well as the international community, take the necessary measures without delay,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “Countries that unconditionally support Israel are helping (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu shed blood to serve his political interests,” Turkish diplomacy also wrote.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is due to address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, is unlikely to fail to mention the war in Gaza. During a meeting in New York with the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, the head of state said that Israel “must answer for its crimes.”
In May, Karim Khan requested arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel since the start of hostilities launched by Hamas on October 7. Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the prosecutor on Monday that Israel was committing “genocide in Gaza” and that it was planning “new massacres.”
