'Netanyahu Will Be Stopped, As Hitler Was': Erdogan Urges UN To Step In As Mid-East Tensions Soar

Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 'the genocide' Israel had carried out in Gaza had reached Lebanon. If not stopped, he added, the Israeli leadership would set its sights on Türkiye.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Source : X/@RTErdogan

Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday condemned Israel’s ground operation in Lebanon, and called on the United Nations (UN) and other international bodies to take immediate action to stop Israel without "wasting any more time".

Addressing the Turkish parliament at the opening of the legislative year, Erdogan said “Israel will be stopped sooner or later”. "All state and international organisations, especially the UN, must stop Israel without wasting any more time," he was quoted as saying by AFP.

This comes after the Israeli army said that it launched a ground offensive in Lebanon, and that its forces engaged in clashes Tuesday, further escalating the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah after a week of intense airstrikes that led to the deaths of hundreds, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

According to AFP, Erdogan said "the terror and genocide" Israel had carried out in Gaza had reached Lebanon. If not stopped, he added, the Israeli leadership would set its sights on Türkiye. He said the Israeli leadership was "acting with the delirium of the promised land” and referred to it as “purely religious fanaticism”.

Comparing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Nazi Germany's Adolf Hitler, he said, "Just as Hitler, who saw himself in a giant mirror, was stopped, Netanyahu will be stopped in the same way."

Türkiye's foreign ministry said it had drawn up contingency plans to evacuate its citizens from Lebanon because "the security situation is likely to deteriorate". The ministry said alternative plans have been prepared to evacuate citizens by sea or air from Lebanon. 

There are about 14,000 Turkish citizens living in Lebanon who have registered with its consulate. Türkiye’s foreign ministry has also set guidelines to evacuate other countries’ citizens via Türkiye. It added that preparations were underway in cooperation with about 20 countries that had requested support.