Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called on Israel to “immediately stop this madness” and “stop attacks” on Gaza, in a message published on X, AFP reported.

“The Israeli bombardment of Gaza, which intensified last night, once again targeted women, children and innocent civilians and deepened the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Israel must immediately stop this madness and stop its attacks,” the Turkish leader said.

He also called for a rally organized by his party in Istanbul on Saturday “where we will say clearly and directly that we stand with the Palestinian people against the persecution of Israel.”

“Great rally for Palestine”

The head of the Turkish state announced that he will take part in this rally called “The Great Rally for Palestine”, which will be held on the territory of the old Atatürk Airport in Istanbul.

In previous days, Erdogan had increased his tone on Israel’s bombing of Gaza in response to a bloody attack by Hamas on October 7, which the Israelis said killed 1,400 people.

He announced on Wednesday that he was abandoning any plans to travel to Israel and condemned the West’s failure to stop the war in Gaza.

“Hamas is not a terrorist group, it is a group of liberators defending their land,” he said, drawing the ire of Israel.

After calling for restraint in the days following Hamas’ massacre of Israelis, Turkey’s president changed his tune and condemned “genocide” after last week’s attack on a hospital in Gaza, which he immediately blamed on Israel – never to go back on it.

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