ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced Wednesday the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
In a statement via social media, “I strongly denounce and curse the treacherous assassination carried out in Tehran against Hamas Political leader Ismail Haniyeh,”.
He said, “It was a despicable attempt to undermine the Cause of Palestine, the glorious resistance of Gaza, and the rightful struggle of our Palestinian brothers, aiming to intimidate, demoralize, and suppress them,”
President Erdogan also emphasized that this assassination mirrors earlier attacks on Palestinian leaders like Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdul Aziz al-Rantisi, asserting that “Zionist barbarism will once again fail to obtain its goals.”
He also called for a united position from the Islamic world to end the oppression in the Gaza Strip and reaffirmed Ankara’s commitment to supporting the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital city.
The Turkish leader concluded with a prayer for Hamas leader Haniyeh, extending condolences to his family and Palestinians. Earlier, Hamas announced that Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in an Israeli attack on his residence in Tehran.
The Iranian state media also reported Haniyeh’s death, noting that a probe into the assassination is ongoing and that the outcome will be announced soon.