Turkey issues arrest warrant for Netanyahu on genocide charge

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A court in Istanbul on Friday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 36 others on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

“In light of the evidence obtained, it has been determined that Israeli State officials bear criminal responsibility for the systematic acts of ‘crimes against humanity’ and ‘genocide’ committed in Gaza, as well as for the actions carried out against the Global Sumud Fleet,” according to a statement from the office of Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor, Anadolu Agency reported.

The Global Sumud Flotilla was an effort by international activists to break Israel’s siege on Gaza by sea. All 42 boats in the fleet were intercepted by Israel in early October.

A United Nations commission has concluded that Israel committed genocide in its war on Gaza that has killed more than 66,000 people, according to the Gazan health ministry. The conflict began on October 7, 2023 when the armed Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion into southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.

A shaky ceasefire is now in place.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar dismissed the warrants as a “PR stunt” by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“In Erdogan’s Turkey, the judiciary has long since become a tool for silencing political rivals and detaining journalists, judges, and mayors,” he said in a post on X.

This is not the first warrant for Netanyahu in connection with the Gaza conflict. The International Criminal Court issued one in November 2024 on charges of “war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024.”

The Istanbul prosecutor, in its statement, highlighted Israeli attacks on health care facilities in Gaza.

“The Oct. 17, 2023 attack on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital claimed 500 lives; on Feb. 29, 2024, Israeli soldiers deliberately destroyed medical equipment; on Mar. 21, 2025, the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital was bombed; many other health facilities were also attacked similarly; Gaza was placed under blockade, and victims were denied access to humanitarian aid,” it stated.

In addition to Netanyahu, warrants were also issued for Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir, and Navy Commander David Saar Salama.