Türkiye declares a day of national mourning for Haniyeh

Türkiye declared a day of national mourning over the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced.

"To show our support for the Palestinian cause and our solidarity with our Palestinian brothers, a one-day national mourning has been declared tomorrow (Friday, August 2) due to the martyrdom of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh," Erdogan said in a statement on Thursday.

"I remember Ismail Haniyeh and all Palestinian martyrs with mercy and extend my condolences to the Palestinian people on behalf of myself and my nation," Erdogan added.

The Palestinian resistance group and Iran announced Haniyeh’s assassination in an Israeli air strike early Wednesday that targeted his residence in Tehran, one day after he attended the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Though Israel has remained silent about the killing, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted at Tel Aviv's involvement in his assassination.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

Nearly 39,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Almost 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.