A meeting of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with the head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh has brought the reaction of Israeli Minister Israel Katz who considered such a meeting as shameful.
Israel Katz shared a photo on X showing Erdogan shaking hands with Ismail Haniyeh in a presidential office in Istanbul over the weekend, writing that the Turkish president "should be ashamed."
According to the Turkish presidential office, Erdogan met with Haniyeh along with key members of his cabinet and Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian foreign minister, to discuss Israeli attacks on Gaza and efforts to defuse tensions across the region.
Erdogan and Shoukry expressed concern during the meeting that recent drone strikes between Israel and Iran could divert international attention from the suffering on the ground in Gaza, where 34,000 people have been killed by Israeli bombing since October 7.
Turkish relations with Israel have deteriorated rapidly since Israel's attack on Gaza. Ankara recently decided to freeze the export of 54 products, including aluminum and cement, to Israel until a ceasefire is reached.