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Thousands gather in Turkey following death of Hamas leader

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators take part in a rally to condemn the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at Hagia Sophia Square in İstanbul, on August 3, 2024. (Photo by KEMAL ASLAN / AFP)

Thousands of protesters gathered in İstanbul on Saturday evening to condemn the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Iran earlier this week, Agence France-Presse reported.

Haniyeh was buried on Friday in Qatar, where he had been staying. Israel, which is accused of the attack by Hamas, Iran and others, has not commented directly.

The protesters, who had gathered at the call of several conservative and pro-government associations, waved Turkish and Palestinian flags as well as portraits of Haniyeh in front of the former Byzantine basilica Hagia Sophia.

“Israel has murdered an important hero in a way that suits it: insidiously,” said Bilal Erdoğan, the son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“Haniyeh had called on millions of people to demonstrate [for Gaza]. We respect his last wish.”

On Wednesday the Turkish head of state condemned the “perfidious murder” of his “brother” Haniyeh, which he described as the work of “Zionist barbarism.”

Haniyeh, who frequently visited Turkey before the Gaza war, was received in İstanbul in April by Erdoğan, who is an ardent supporter of Hamas, which he describes as a “liberation movement.”

Canada, the European Union, Israel, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States label Hamas as a terrorist organization. New Zealand and Paraguay classify only its military wing as such. Brazil, China, Egypt, Iran, Norway, Qatar, Russia, Syria and Turkey do not consider Hamas a terrorist organization.

NATO member Turkey’s Western allies have time and again criticized what they see as the government of Erdoğan providing a safe haven for Hamas officials and members.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for its unprecedented October 7 attack that triggered the war in Gaza and resulted in the death of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.

The militants also took 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still being held captive in Gaza, including 39 who the military says are dead.

Israel’s campaign against Hamas has killed at least 39,550 people in the Gaza Strip, according to the health ministry in the enclave.

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