Politics Erdogan accuses Israel of plans to expand the Gaza war

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel of wanting to take the war in the Gaza Strip into the region. "The attacks on Lebanon in recent days have confirmed our concern about the Israeli government's plans to extend the war to the region," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul before his flight to New York for the UN General Assembly.

The Turkish president added that the region was facing a "huge crisis". He accused Israel of carrying out "attacks like a terrorist group" because of the pager attacks in Lebanon. According to the latest information from the Lebanese authorities, at least 39 people were killed in the detonations of the manipulated devices on Tuesday and Wednesday. Around 3,000 others were injured - including not only Hezbollah members, but also civilians such as children.

In addition, at least 31 people died in an Israeli attack on a suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday, including the high-ranking Hezbollah military commander Ibrahim Akil, who, according to the Israeli military, was the target of the attack. According to Erdogan, Israel's attacks on Lebanon were a "provocation" to enforce its "radical Zionist ideology". His government has close relations with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

On October 7, 2023, terrorists from Hamas, which is allied with Hezbollah, and other extremist groups killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and took around 250 others hostage in the Gaza Strip. This was the trigger for the Gaza War. Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have been firing at each other almost daily in northern Israel.

SDA