Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan revealed Monday that his country is caring for more than 1,000 Hamas members who are being treated in hospitals across the country.
The president of Turkey, a NATO country, was responding to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis referring to Hamas as a “terrorist organization" when he made the admission.
"If you call Hamas a 'terrorist organization,' this would sadden us," he said at a joint press with Kyriakos. "We don't deem Hamas a terrorist organization... More than 1,000 members of Hamas are under treatment in hospitals across our country."
A Turkish official later said the Turkish leader “misspoke,” Reuters reports, noting Erdogan was actually referring to Gazans, “not Hamas members.”
Reuters could not immediately determine the background of those being treated in Turkey, but in November Ankara said it was evacuating dozens of wounded or sick Gazans, mostly cancer patients, and their companions following Israel's offensive in Gaza. (Reuters)
Turkey’s Erdogan:
— Diliman Abdulkader (@D_abdulkader) May 13, 2024
“More than a thousand members of Hamas are receiving treatment in hospitals in Turkey.”
The guy is literally admitting sponsoring terrorists but Turkey is still not on the State Sponsor of Terrorism list, @StateDeptCT? pic.twitter.com/XtRRYbC5rD
"Erdogan’s admission that Turkey is treating 1,000 Hamas terrorists in Turkish hospitals and the revelation that Turkey is being considered as a base to launch terror attacks against Israel underscore Turkey’s embrace of international terrorism rather than its treaty obligations to its Western allies," commented Sinan Ciddi of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who also disagreed with the update from the "anonymous" Turkish official.
.@SinanCiddi: "Turkey has provided material support and safe harbor to Hamas since at least 2011. Erdogan saw October 7 as an opportunity to publicly elevate Ankara’s relationship with the terrorist entity. Erdogan’s admission that Turkey is treating 1,000 Hamas terrorists in… https://t.co/d8Js5sBWiq
— FDD (@FDD) May 14, 2024
If the palace wanted to set the record straight it would set the record straight via an official statement from the palace's comms office. An anonymous person claiming to be an official speaking to Reuters is not a correction 2/3
— Sinan Ciddi (@SinanCiddi) May 13, 2024
A 1000 Hamas fighters being treated in 🇹🇷 hospitals is a monumental statement from many perspectives and likely a sanctionable. For one thing, how did 1000 terrorists leave Gaza and get to 🇹🇷 ?!?!?!?!?! 3/3
— Sinan Ciddi (@SinanCiddi) May 13, 2024
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