Turkish Court Issues Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli Officials Over Gaza War, Drawing Hamas Praise Amid Fragile Ceasefire

 

Istanbul/Beirut, November 8, 2025 — In a bold escalation of international legal pressure on Israel's leadership, a Turkish court on Friday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 36 other high-ranking officials, accusing them of genocide and crimes against humanity in connection with Israel's protracted military campaign in the Gaza Strip. The move, announced by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, has been hailed by the Palestinian militant group Hamas as a "commendable step" toward global accountability, even as it risks further straining the fragile ceasefire that took effect in Gaza less than a month ago.

The warrants, issued under Articles 76 and 77 of the Turkish Penal Code, target a roster of senior figures including Defense Minister Israel Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, and Navy Commander David Saar Salama. Prosecutors described the charges as stemming from "systematic acts" of violence against Gaza's civilian population, citing specific incidents such as the October 17, 2023, airstrike on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital that killed over 500 people, the March 2025 bombing of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital — a facility built by Ankara in 2017 as Gaza's primary oncology center — and the interception of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters last month. The flotilla, carrying humanitarian aid, was halted by Israeli naval forces, prompting survivor testimonies that fueled the Turkish investigation.

"This decision underscores the criminal responsibility of Israeli state officials for genocide and crimes against humanity perpetrated in Gaza," the prosecutor's office stated in a November 7 press release. The probe, initiated in early October following complaints from Istanbul-based lawyers and flotilla survivors, was conducted in coordination with Turkey's Ministry of Justice and Foreign Affairs. It draws on evidence including medical reports, witness statements, and UN documentation of aid blockades that exacerbated famine and disease in the enclave. Turkish authorities emphasized that the suspects, none of whom are in Turkey, remain at large, but the warrants could theoretically lead to arrests if any enter the country.

Hamas, the Islamist group that has governed Gaza since 2007 and whose October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel ignited the current war, issued a statement late Friday welcoming the warrants as a reflection of "the genuine positions of the Turkish people and leadership in standing firmly by justice, humanity, and the bonds of brotherhood that unite them with our oppressed Palestinian people." The group described Gaza's ordeal as "one of the most brutal genocidal wars in modern history at the hands of the fascist occupation leaders." Hamas urged "world governments and judicial bodies to issue legal warrants to pursue the leaders of the Zionist occupation wherever they are, and to bring them before courts to hold them accountable for their crimes against humanity."

The statement echoes sentiments from Palestinian civil society, where the war has left an indelible scar. Since the conflict erupted, Palestinian health authorities report at least 68,875 deaths in Gaza — nearly two-thirds women and children — and over 170,679 injuries, figures corroborated by UN agencies despite Israeli claims of undercounting combatant fatalities. A peer-reviewed study in The Lancet earlier this year suggested the true toll could be 40% higher due to bodies trapped under rubble and indirect deaths from starvation and untreated wounds. Israel's military asserts it has killed nearly 20,000 Hamas fighters, but critics, including UN rapporteurs, argue the disproportionate civilian impact constitutes collective punishment.

Israel swiftly condemned the Turkish action as a "PR stunt" orchestrated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government has been one of Israel's fiercest critics. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar posted on X (formerly Twitter): "Israel firmly rejects, with contempt, the latest PR stunt by the tyrant Erdogan. In his Turkey, the judiciary silences rivals and detains innocents — this is no court of justice." Netanyahu's office echoed the dismissal, calling the warrants "absurd and politically motivated," drawing parallels to Israel's rejection of similar International Criminal Court (ICC) actions. The prime minister, speaking at a Jerusalem cabinet meeting, vowed that "no biased court will deter us from defending our people."

The timing of the warrants adds tension to the October 10 ceasefire, the third such truce since the war began but the first with potential for permanence. Brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump during indirect talks in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, the deal — ratified by Israel's cabinet in the early hours of October 10 — halted hostilities after 24 months of devastation. Key provisions included the release of 48 remaining Israeli hostages (20 believed alive) in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, an immediate surge in humanitarian aid (up to 600 trucks daily), and phased IDF withdrawals to pre-agreed lines south of Gaza City. The ceasefire took effect at noon that day, with Israeli forces pulling back to minimize civilian friction, and Palestinians beginning cautious returns to northern areas devastated by siege.

Yet, implementation has been rocky. UN officials report that while aid inflows have increased — with over 10,000 tons of food and medical supplies entering since October 21 — distribution remains hampered by damaged infrastructure and sporadic clashes. At least 15 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in redeployment zones since the truce, according to the UN Human Rights Office, prompting accusations of violations. Hamas suspended a planned hostage release on October 28 after alleging Israeli airstrikes, though Trump intervened to reaffirm the deal the same day. A U.S.-led Civil-Military Coordination Center, headed by Admiral Brad Cooper of Central Command, has been established to oversee compliance, but Israeli opposition to Turkish involvement in post-war stabilization — including reconstruction — looms large. Ankara, which mediated Hamas's ceasefire assent, seeks a role in Gaza's recovery, a prospect Jerusalem views as untenable given Erdogan's Hamas ties.

This is not the first international legal salvo against Netanyahu. In November 2024, the ICC in The Hague issued warrants for him and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, citing "reasonable grounds" for war crimes including starvation as a method of warfare and crimes against humanity such as murder and persecution from October 8, 2023, to May 20, 2024. The ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber rejected Israel's jurisdictional challenges, obligating its 125 member states to arrest the pair upon entry. Netanyahu decried the ruling as "antisemitic," while Hamas celebrated it as a "historical precedent." Turkey's action builds on this, aligning with Ankara's 2024 intervention in South Africa's ICJ genocide case against Israel.

The broader context of the war underscores the warrants' gravity. Hamas's October 7 assault killed 1,195 people — mostly civilians — and abducted 251, shattering Israel's sense of security and prompting vows of eradication from Netanyahu's government. Israel's response — a ground invasion launched October 27, 2023, and relentless airstrikes — leveled much of Gaza: Eight in ten buildings damaged or destroyed, nine in ten homes uninhabitable, and over 80% of cropland razed, per UN satellite analysis. Famine gripped the north by mid-2024, with 467 days of blockade exacerbating child amputations (Gaza now has the world's highest per capita rate) and orphanhood (four in 100 children parentless). A January 2025 Lancet analysis estimated indirect deaths could push the toll past 186,000, or 8% of Gaza's pre-war 2.3 million population.

Interim truces in November 2023 and January 2025 faltered — the latter collapsing amid a March Israeli offensive — but the October deal, part of Trump's "Gaza Peace Plan," offers glimmers of hope. It mandates Phase Two negotiations by November 15 for full demilitarization and governance reforms, potentially involving a multinational force excluding Turkey. Yet, with 20,000 Israeli soldiers treated for injuries (1,000 hospitalized monthly) and Hamas claiming destruction of 24 IDF vehicles in recent skirmishes, trust is thin.

Globally, reactions split along fault lines. The European Union reiterated ICC obligations, with France and the UK affirming arrests if warranted, while Hungary's Viktor Orbán invited Netanyahu despite the risks. In the Arab world, Jordan and Egypt praised Turkey's "moral stance," and Qatar — a key mediator — called for unified judicial pursuit. Rights groups like Amnesty International lauded the warrants as "a step toward ending impunity," but warned of politicization. As Gazans bury unidentified bodies returned under the ceasefire — including mass graves in Deir el-Balah — the warrants symbolize a reckoning, but also a reminder: Legal ink rarely halts the cycle of violence without political will.

In Gaza City, displaced resident Raghad Izzat Hamouda, 20, who shared sweets during Friday prayers marking the truce, told reporters: "Justice feels distant when your home is rubble. But if it brings the world to see our pain, maybe it's a start." As the sun sets over the Mediterranean, where the Sumud Flotilla once sailed, the warrants hang like a shadow over fragile peace — a testament to wounds unhealed and accountability long deferred.