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Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Istanbul on Saturday evening (August 3) to condemn the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran earlier this week.
Haniyeh was killed in Salam on July 31, shortly after attending the inauguration of Iran’s new president. Israel has not claimed responsibility for Haniyeh’s killing, but it did when Hezbollah top commander Fuad Shukr was murdered in Beirut on July 30. Hamas accuses Israel of murdering Haniyeh.
Called by several conservative and pro-government associations, demonstrators gathered in front of the former Byzantine cathedral Hagia Sophia, waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and portraits of Haniyeh.
Bilal Erdogan, son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said: “Israel murdered an important hero in a way that suited its wishes: treachery.”
He added: “Hania called on millions of people to demonstrate (for Gaza). We respect his last wishes.”
On Wednesday, the Turkish leader condemned the “treacherous assassination” of his “brother” Haniyeh, calling it an “act of Zionist barbarity.”
Haniyeh lived in Turkey several times before the Gaza war. In April this year, Haniyeh was received by Erdogan in Istanbul. Erdogan is an avid supporter of Hamas, and Haniyeh described Hamas as a “liberation movement.”
Israel, the United States, the European Union and other countries have designated the Palestinian Islamic Movement as a terrorist organization.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for its unprecedented attack on October 7, which sparked the Gaza war and killed 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
The militants also took 251 hostages, 111 of whom remain in Gaza, and the military said 39 had died.
Israel’s campaign against Hamas has killed at least 39,550 people in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which did not give specific details on the deaths of civilians and militants.
(Editing by Georgi Gotev)
Read more by Euractiv
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