Türkiye expresses solidarity with Lebanon amid Israeli attacks
Damaged buildings after an Israeli airstrike, in Khiyam town, near the border with Israel, in Lebanon, June 26, 2024. (EPA Photo)


President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed solidarity with Lebanon in the face of the latest Israeli attacks and regional developments as he spoke with Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Wednesday.

According to a statement by the Presidential Communications Directorate, Erdoğan and Mikati talked about Israel's threats and attacks against Lebanon, as well as its ongoing attacks in the Gaza Strip.

"Stating that Israeli aggression must be stopped as soon as possible and that Israel’s attempts to spread conflicts are extremely dangerous, President Erdoğan expressed that Türkiye stands by Lebanon against Israel’s aggressive policies," the statement said.

The president also urged the international community and the Muslim world to say "enough" to Israel, which he said threatens regional and global peace.

Earlier on Wednesday, Erdoğan criticized Western powers for supporting Israel's attacks on Lebanon, as he warned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to spread the war in Gaza could lead to a 'catastrophe.'

The fallout from Israel's war on Gaza is regularly felt on the Israel-Lebanon frontier, where deadly cross-border exchanges have escalated between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters.

Israel, flouting a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

Nearly 37,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and more than 86,200 others injured, according to local health authorities.

More than eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.