Turkey on Sunday condemned Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s threat to kill Hamas political bureau chief Khalil al-Hayya, two days after Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan received him in Ankara.
Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran said threats against people involved in ceasefire and peace negotiations showed the Israeli government’s disregard for international law.
He also denied Katz’s accusations against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkey.
Katz wrote on X that Israel had killed Hamas leaders in Gaza and that “al-Hayya’s turn will come too,” threatening to send him to join slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in hell, according to the Israeli Ynet news site.
The Israeli minister also accused Erdoğan of welcoming Hamas members and supporting what Katz described as terrorist activities conducted from Turkey along with the Muslim Brotherhood against Israel and other countries in the region.
Fidan met with al-Hayya and an accompanying Hamas delegation in Ankara on Friday, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported, citing Turkish diplomatic sources. The sources provided no details of their discussion.
Responding to Katz in a statement on X, Duran attributed the remarks to political desperation ahead of elections in Israel.
İsrail Savunma Bakanı Israel Katz’ın, Cumhurbaşkanımız Sayın Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’ı ve ülkemizi hedef alan hadsiz ifadeleri, İsrail’de yaklaşan seçimler öncesinde içine düştükleri siyasi çaresizliğin bir göstergesidir.
Türkiye’ye yönelik asılsız ithamlar, İsrail yönetiminin…
— Burhanettin Duran (@burhanduran) October 11, 2026
Israel will hold parliamentary elections on October 27, its first national vote since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to remain in power, with his government’s security record and handling of the Gaza war central campaign issues.
Duran said accusations against Turkey could not conceal what he called Israel’s record of genocide in Gaza or its aggressive policies in the region.
“Türkiye will continue to defend the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, justice and lasting peace,” he said, adding that Israeli threats and provocations would not change Ankara’s position.
Katz’s reference to Haniyeh invoked the killing of the former Hamas political leader in Tehran in July 2024. Katz publicly acknowledged Israel’s responsibility for that assassination in December of the same year.
Turkey has maintained contacts with Hamas, and Erdoğan has defended the group as a liberation movement. Israel, the United States and the European Union designate Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Relations between Ankara and Israel have deteriorated sharply over the Gaza war. Turkey halted exports to and imports from Israel in May 2024, citing the worsening humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories.
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