Israel’s Gaza war ‘reminiscent of the Nazis’ – Erdogan — RT World News

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that the ongoing Israeli war in the Gaza Strip is similar to the massacres committed by Nazi Germany during World War II. His harsh criticism comes at a time when the Israel Defense Forces are intensifying their ground offensive against Hamas fighters in the southern part of the densely populated Palestinian enclave.

“In front of the eyes of the whole world, the Israeli occupation forces brutally martyred 28,000 of our Palestinian brothers and sisters, most of them children and women.” Erdogan said during a speech at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum. IDF strikes on schools, hospitals, mosques and other civilian sites are attacks 'Attacks reminiscent of the Nazis' he added.

The Turkish president, an outspoken critic of Israel, has repeatedly likened Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler and condemned the military operation in Gaza.

The bombing campaign and subsequent ground invasion displaced about 85% of Gaza's population and left about 570,000 Palestinians facing starvation, according to the United Nations. About 1.4 million of the besieged Strip's 2.2 million pre-war residents fled to the southern city of Rafah, near the border with Egypt, after Israel called on civilians to evacuate to the south.

Israel declared war on Hamas in response to the terrorist attack on October 7, in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage. Dozens of hostages have since been released as part of a prisoner exchange during a week-long ceasefire in November.

Netanyahu's office announced on Friday that the Israeli army would strike Rafah to eliminate Hamas. “intense activity” in the city. The Israeli military and officials said they were doing everything they could to reduce the number of civilian deaths. Israeli diplomats accused Hamas of using schools, hospitals and other sites as cover for its rocket attacks, and told the United Nations that the militants were using civilians as human shields.

Last month, the International Court of Justice, based in The Hague, ruled that the State of Israel must do so “Taking all measures within the limits of its authority” To prevent a “Genocide” in Gaza. Netanyahu rejected the ruling “Not only is it false, it's outrageous.”