Tel Aviv [Israel], November 8 (ANI/TPS): The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has issued arrest warrants for 37 individuals, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on charges of “genocide” in connection with the war in Gaza.
According to a press statement from the prosecutor’s office cited in the newspaper Turkiye Today, among those named are Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The prosecutor’s office reportedly claimed that Israel “systematically targets civilians in the Gaza Strip” amid its war against Hamas, which began after the terrorist group’s October 7, 2023, attacks on Israeli civilians.
The warrant is said to cite specific incidents from the early days of the war, including the October 17, 2023, explosion at the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital. Israeli and US intelligence concluded that the blast was the result of a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group.
Israel denies all claims that it targets civilians. It regularly points to its efforts to evacuate non-combatants ahead of strikes and facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as evidence of its compliance with international law.
Turkey’s president is an outspoken supporter of the terrorist group Hamas. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor has also issued dozens of arrest warrants for journalists and political opponents of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the past, including opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu, who is currently awaiting trial on “treason” charges.
It is worth noting that Turkey itself has been accused of committing genocide against its Armenian population between 1915 and 1923, during which up to 1.5 million Armenians were executed or left to starve to death. The remaining 500,000 Armenians in Turkey—only about 25 percent of the total population—fled to Russia.
The United States, Canada, most European Union countries, Russia, and several other nations officially recognize the Armenian Genocide. Others, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, do not, mainly due to fears of reprisals from Turkey.
That is also the case with Israel. However, in August 2025, Prime Minister Netanyahu personally recognized the genocide, though this fell short of any form of official recognition. (ANI/TPS)
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