In response to mounting security concerns associated with the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, Israel has reportedly evacuated all its diplomatic staff from Turkey. The decision comes amid growing tensions and protests in Turkey related to the conflict.
According to unnamed diplomatic sources, the withdrawal of Israeli personnel from diplomatic missions in Turkey is primarily due to security reasons.
The Israeli National Security Council also issued a travel advisory to Israeli citizens in Turkey, urging them to leave the country as soon as possible.
Protests erupted in Turkey after a blast at a Gaza hospital resulted in heavy casualties. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Turkey, with some demonstrations occurring outside Israeli diplomatic missions in Istanbul and Ankara.
The Gaza-based Health Ministry revealed that at least 471 Palestinians were killed in the blast at the Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital in the Gaza Strip. While Hamas claimed that Israel carried out an airstrike on the hospital, Israel contended that a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) was responsible for the explosion.
The Israel-Hamas conflict intensified when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israeli military targets and towns near the Gaza Strip on October 7, prompting a series of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
The toll of the conflict has been high, with approximately 1,300 people in Israel killed as a result of Hamas’s attacks, while the Gaza-based Health Ministry reported that the death toll among Palestinians due to Israeli retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza had reached 3,478.
The situation remains highly volatile, with ongoing international efforts to broker a ceasefire and ease tensions in the region.
