Turkey recalls ambassador from Israel amid Gaza war

Turkey has decided to recall its ambassador, Şakir Özkan Torunlar, from Tel Aviv for consultations following Israel's "refusal of calls for a ceasefire and continuous and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid," Ankara's foreign ministry said Saturday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has come out firmly defending Hamas’ attack on October 7, calling the terrorist organization “a liberation group.” In response, Israel recalled its diplomats from Turkey last week.

"Israel has been openly committing war crimes for 22 days, but the Western leaders cannot even call on Israel for a ceasefire, let alone react to it," Erdogan told a crowd in Istanbul, last week.

In a statement published by the administration "In view of the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in Gaza caused by Israel's continuous attacks against civilians and its refusal to accept a ceasefire and allow the flow of humanitarian aid, it was decided to recall our ambassador in Tel Aviv back to Ankara for consultations."

"Netanyahu is no longer someone we can talk to. He is erased," Turkish media quoted Erdogan as saying.

Not severing relations

Despite the return of the ambassador to Turkey, the president noted that Turkey is not severing diplomatic relations with Israel in full.

"Complete disconnection is not possible, especially in international diplomacy," he said. "But Netanyahu bears the main responsibility for the violence. What he needs to do is take a step back and stop it."

According to him, the head of the National Intelligence Organization, İbrahim Kalın, is leading Turkey's efforts to try and mediate an end to the war.