Turkey issues arrest warrants for Israeli ministers, IDF officers

Istanbul court issues arrest warrants for 37 senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF chief of staff, accusing them of genocide in the war against Hamas.

By World Israel News Staff

Turkey has issued arrest warrants against dozens of senior Israeli officials, accusing them of “genocide” during Israel’s war against the Hamas terror organization in the Gaza Strip.

On Friday, the Istanbul Criminal Court of Peace finalized arrest warrants for 37 Israeli government and military officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Other Israeli officials targeted by the warrants include IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and Israeli Navy Commander David Saar Salama.

The warrants were issued in response to a petition by the Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s office, following an investigation by the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice and the Turkish Justice Ministry, in coordination with Turkey’s Foreign Ministry.

In its announcement on Friday, the Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s office cited several incidents to bolster its claim of genocide and other war crimes.

Among the alleged war crimes cited was the October 17, 2023 explosion at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City.

While Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike for the explosion and claimed that over 500 people were killed, it was later found by Israel, the US, UK, Canada, and France that a faulty rocket launched by Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists was the culprit.

Also, Hamas’ initial claims of more than 500 fatalities were later debunked, with the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem, which manages the hospital, putting the number of deaths at approximately 200.

Formal ties between Israel and Turkey, which had been tense for the past decade, have been virtually nonexistent since October 7, 2023, with both countries recalling their ambassadors in 2023, while Ankara announced a full cessation of diplomatic ties in November 2024.