Erdoğan says Israel's increasing threat rhetoric against Lebanon 'deeply concerning' for regional peace

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned that Israel's increased aggression and threatening tone against Lebanon are a major threat to the future and security of the region.

"No state in our region, including Türkiye, can feel safe unless the Israeli aggression under [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu's administration is stopped," Erdoğan told reporters following a cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara on Tuesday.

Erdoğan called Netanyahu a murderer and reiterated that if the Western world continues to support him while the Islamic world remains silent, Israel will continue its occupation policy at the "cost of dragging our entire region into the fire."

Erdoğan stated that Türkiye constantly stresses that the Gaza crisis will not be limited to Gaza and that Israeli atrocities could have serious consequences while it pursues expansionist goals on all fronts, adding that missile tensions with Iran and increasing attacks on Lebanon justify these concerns.

Israel launched its war on Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,190 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli official figures.

Israel's offensive has killed more than 37,900 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

The war has also led to soaring tensions on Israel's northern border with Lebanon, where the army has been trading nearly daily fire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, a key Hamas ally, sparing fear of a wider conflict.

Erdoğan has been a vocal critic of Israel's brutal military campaign in Gaza, frequently lambasting the Netanyahu administration and the Western powers that back it.

"I must warn once more. We are dealing with a...