Erdogan criticises US for moving aircraft carrier closer to Israel

Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised the United States (US) for moving a carrier strike group closer to Israel, saying that it would commit “serious massacres” in Gaza.

More than 1,200 Israelis have been killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict, an Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson said Wednesday, up from 1,000 previously reported.

Following a surprise attack by Hamas on Saturday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Sunday that the US will be moving a carrier strike group, which includes the USS Gerald R. Ford, closer to Israel.

“What will the aircraft carrier of the US do near Israel, why do they come? What will boats around and aircraft on it will do? They will hit Gaza and around, and take steps for serious massacres there,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a joint press conference with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in Ankara.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has previously said that Turkiye was ready to mediate between Israeli and Palestinian forces to ensure calm.

The conflict comes as Turkiye, which has backed Palestinians in the past, hosted members of Hamas, and supported a two-state solution to the conflict, works to repair ties with Israel after years of animosity.