Turkey became the first member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to recall its ambassador to Israel, amid the country's tumultuous ongoing conflict against Hamas.
On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history, with Israel subsequently launching its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza in response. As of Saturday, over 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, the Associated Press reported, while more than 9,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the ensuing strikes from Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country is "at war" and has cut off food, fuel, electricity, and medicine supplies into Gaza. Israel has called up 360,000 army reservists as it prepares for a likely ground offensive into the territory, which has an estimated population of around 2.3 million.
On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that his country would be recalling its ambassador to Israel, Şakir Özkan Torunlar, for consultations, according to The Jerusalem Post. In a statement, the Turkish foreign ministry said that the recall was enacted "in view of the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Gaza caused by the continuing attacks by Israel against civilians, and Israel's refusal of calls for ceasefire and continuous and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid."
As of Saturday, Turkey is the latest of a handful of nations to recall their ambassadors to Israel, following in the footsteps of Honduras, Bahrain, Chile, Colombia, and Jordan. These decisions came after Bolivia became the first nation to fully cut diplomatic ties with Israel over its treatment of Palestinians in Gaza since October 7.
In addition to the recall of Torunlar, Erdogan also said in a statement on Saturday that, after the current conflict between Israel and Hamas passes, the Gaza territory must be part of a sovereign Palestinian nation. He also declared that Turkey would oppose any Israeli plans that would, in its view, promote "gradually erasing Palestinians" from history.
A longtime member of NATO, having joined in 1952, Turkey maintains a strong diplomatic and military relationship with its other member nations, including the United States.
Turkey has raised the ire of Israeli officials since the start of the conflict, particularly in light of a statement in which Erdogan described Hamas as freedom fighters. The nation also hosts members of Hamas within its border and has not designated the group as a terrorist organization, as have the likes of its NATO allies the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
Newsweek reached out to Israeli officials via email for further comment.
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Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
