Turkey's Erdogan threatens to invade Israel over war in Gaza as regional tensions grow

Turkey’s leader on Sunday threatened military intervention in Israel to stop Jerusalem’s war in Gaza in a significant escalation of rhetoric from NATO’s second-largest military.

In a meeting with his Justice and Development Party (AKP), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey "must be very strong so that Israel can't do these ridiculous things to Palestine."

"Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we might do similar to them," he said, according to a Reuters report. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (L) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) (Getty Images)

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Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz came back swinging and suggested Erdoğan would meet a similarly deadly fate as Iraq’s former president, Saddam Hussein, who was executed by hanging in 2006.

"Erdoğan follows in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and threatens to attack Israel. Just let him remember what happened there and how it ended," Katz said in a message posted to X that included a picture of Erdoğan and the former Iraqi leader. 

Israel Defense Forces are seen operating in Rafah, a city in the Gaza Strip. (IDF Spokesman's Office)

When questioned about the Turkish president's comments, an embassy spokesperson in the U.S. told Fox News Digital, "Turkey has no issue with the Israeli people at all. Our problem has been with the brutal acts and irresponsible steps of the current extremist Israeli government."

"Since October 7, Turkey has exerted every effort possible to help achieve a permanent ceasefire to prevent unbearably high Palestinian civilian casualties caused by indiscriminate Israeli attacks on Gaza," the spokesperson added. "We continue to share with the international community and the US administration our concerns regarding the ongoing Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians and its steps that may lead to another escalation in other parts of the region, particularly in Lebanon. 

"We call on Israel to sign up to the three-stage plan that US President Biden announced on 31 May."

The U.S. State Department also told Fox News Digital that it was urging both Israel and Turkey to "avoid any further escalation."

"We maintain strong relations with both Turkey and Israel," a department spokesperson said. "We urge continued dialogue between these two valued partners."

NATO said it did not have any comment to contribute on efforts being made to cool tensions between the NATO nation and the West’s top ally in the Middle East. 

Threats levied by the Turkish president come as Israel faces increasing aggression from Iran-backed Islamic militants, including Hamas, Houthi and Hezbollah terrorist groups. 

Erdoğan did not detail what Turkish military intervention would entail, though he has repeatedly been a harsh critic of the war in Gaza.

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Displaced Palestinians arrive in central Gaza after fleeing from Rafah on Thursday, May 9. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

"There is no reason why we cannot do this…We must be strong so that we can take these steps," Erdogan told AKP party officials.

The Turkish leader appeared to be referring to military action Ankara, capital of Turkey, took in 2020 when it sent troops to defend the U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord of Libya amid its civil war, which first broke out in 2014. 

Turkey has denied direct involvement in Azerbaijan's military action in its Nagorno-Karabakh region, where it claims to be carrying out "anti-terror" operations against Armenian rebels. Though in 2023, Ankara reportedly said it was using "all means" to support its ally, including through military training.

Smoke rises during an Israeli strike in the vicinity of the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on March 28, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (Photo by AFP)

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly responded to Erdoğan's comments, though he and the Turkish leader have routinely exchanged harsh barbs over the years. 

Both Netanyahu and Erdoğan have compared each other to Adolf Hitler over Turkey's long-running war against Kurdish militants and for Israel’s hostile action against Palestinians.