Israel summons Turkish envoy over half-mast salute for Hamas leader

Israel’s Foreign Ministry today summoned the deputy Turkish ambassador for a reprimand after Turkiye’s embassy in Tel Aviv lowered its flag to half mast in response to the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, Reuters reported.

“The State of Israel will not tolerate expressions of mourning for a murderer like Ismail Haniyeh,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

Haniyeh was killed in Tehran while there to attend the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Israel has not made any official claim of responsibility for his death but Iran and allies including Hamas and Hezbollah have accused Israel of the assassination and vowed revenge.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan declared today a day of national mourning for Haniyeh.

Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oncu Keceli, responding to Katz’s remarks on social media platform X, said: “You cannot achieve peace by killing negotiators, threatening diplomats,” in an apparent reference to Haniyeh’s killing.

Tensions between Israel and Turkiye have risen sharply since the start of Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza, in which almost 40,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 90,000 have been injured, the vast majority children and women.

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