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Turkey issues 'genocide' arrest warrants for Netanyahu, top Israeli authorities

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 08 November 2025 7:19 AM

Turkey has issued arrest warrants for 37 top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for the crime of "genocide" against the Palestinian people.

Issued on Friday by Istanbul's Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the arrest warrants, in addition to Netanyahu, include minister of military affairs Israel Katz, so-called minister of national security Itamar Ben-Gvir, chief of the general staff Eyal Zamir, and naval forces commander David Saar Salama.

According to the prosecutor's statement, the officials have committed genocide and crimes against humanity in Gaza, as well as ordering attacks on the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was transporting humanitarian aid to the besieged territory.

The statement said Israel's actions in Gaza since October 2023 have involved systematic assaults on civilians, hospitals, and vital infrastructure.

It cited incidents such as the bombing of the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, the destruction of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, and the killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was shot multiple times by Israeli forces.

"The October 17, 2023, attack on the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital claimed 500 lives; on February 29, 2024, Israeli soldiers deliberately destroyed medical equipment; ... Gaza was placed under blockade, and victims were denied access to humanitarian aid," the statement read.

The investigation also covers the Israeli navy's interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters and the abduction of hundreds of activists on board.

Survivors of the flotilla, later repatriated to Turkey, provided testimony and forensic evidence of various forms of abuse at Israeli jails that supported the case.

The Prosecutor's Office noted that the Israeli officials are not currently in Turkey but confirmed that international arrest warrants have been issued and that proceedings are continuing "with precision and in all aspects."

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas welcomed the decision, calling it a "commendable measure [confirming] the sincere positions of the Turkish people and their leaders, who are committed to the values of justice, humanity, and fraternity that bind them to our oppressed Palestinian people."

Turkey's move comes nearly a year after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant over "the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts during the Gaza war."

Since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal assault on Gaza on October 7, 2023, at least 68,500 Palestinians have been killed and about 170,000 wounded, most of them women and children.