Tel Aviv: In the aftermath of the Turkish flag lowered at half-mast at the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv in response to the elimination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz has said that he has instructed the Foreign Ministry officials to summon the Deputy Turkish Ambassador to Israel for a severe reprimand.
He said that Israel will not tolerate the expressions of mourning for a "murderer" like Ismail Haniyeh at any cost.
"I have instructed the Foreign Ministry officials to summon the Deputy Turkish Ambassador to Israel for a severe reprimand following the lowering of the Turkish flag to half-mast at the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv, in response to the elimination of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the terrorist organization Hamas. The State of Israel will not tolerate expressions of mourning for a murderer like Ismail Haniyeh, who led Hamas in committing the atrocities on October 7th and prayed with his associates, wishing success to the murderers while watching the horrific images on television," the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel wrote on X.
Read: https://twitter.com/Israel_katz/status/1819316305226617212?
In a stern response to the Turkish embassy's move, Katz said that "if they wish to mourn, they should go to Turkey and mourn."
"If the embassy representatives wish to mourn, they should go to Turkey and mourn alongside their master, Erdogan, who embraces the terrorist organization Hamas and supports its acts of murder and terror," he wrote in his post.
On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his nation has delivered "crushing blows" to enemies in the last few days.
He made the remarks hours after the deaths of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army released a video on August 1 of an airstrike in Gaza that killed the head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif, last month in the southern Gaza Strip on July 13. The Israeli army said in a statement that fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis and the death of Deif was confirmed "following an intelligence assessment." Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Israeli announcement.
—ANI