Erdogan sharply criticized the Israeli government

“The Israeli occupation forces continue their illegal and inhumane attacks against the oppressed in the Gaza Strip,” Erdogan added, speaking at a joint press conference with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Recently, Erdogan and other senior Turkish officials have increased their threats against Israel; in particular, last month Turkey’s interior minister called for the “liberation” of Jerusalem. A number of Western and Israeli media reported that during a prayer to mark the end of the month of Ramadan in March 2025, Erdogan called on the Almighty to destroy Israel, saying: “May Allah destroy and devastate, for the sake of his name… Zionist Israel.”

In response to Erdogan’s increasingly hostile rhetoric toward Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Channel 14 earlier this week that the Turkish leader should “calm down.”