Erdoğan: Israel trying to provoke regional countries into conflict

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned Tuesday that the consequences of Israel's current ground operation in Lebanon would be very different from similar moves in the past.

"The consequences of a ground operation in Lebanon will not be similar to (Israel's) past occupations," Erdoğan said in an address at the reopening of Türkiye's parliament from its summer recess, made just hours after Israeli troops and tanks started moving into neighboring Lebanon.

Condemning Israel's actions in the region, he blasted the nearly year-long "genocide" in Gaza and recent "terrorist attacks" in Lebanon that have killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands, saying Israel's Zionist Netanyahu government is trying to provoke regional countries into conflict.

Israel's inhumane actions are not getting the "necessary and sufficient response from the world," he said.

Referring to Israel's nearly year-long offensive on Gaza, which has killed over 41,600 people and injured over 96,000, Erdoğan added: "In the last 51 weeks, under the leadership of (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, a figure compared to Hitler, the state of Israel has recklessly committed all crimes against humanity."

"No matter what Israel does, it will be stopped sooner or later," he added.

"Driven by the delusion of 'promised land,' after Palestine and Lebanon, the Israeli government will set its sights on our (Turkish) homeland," he warned.

- Israel's 'separatist' proxies in northern Iraq, Syria

Stressing that Netanyahu's government "harbors a delusional ambition, including Anatolia, and is pursuing a utopia," he said: "While closely monitoring Israel's attacks in Palestine and Lebanon, we also clearly see how they aim to establish small satellite structures in northern Iraq and Syria by using separatist groups as proxies."

Stressing the gravity of the situation, he said: "Occupation, terror, and aggression are right next to us. We're not facing a state bound by law, but a horde of killers that thrives on blood and feeds off occupation."

Saying that "Israeli aggression also targets Türkiye," Erdoğan pledged that his government will "oppose this state terrorism with all the means at our disposal" to protect the nation and its independence.

Since Sept. 23, Israel has launched massive airstrikes against what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, killing more than 1,057 people and injuring over 2,950 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Several Hezbollah leaders have been killed in the assault, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 41,600 people, most of them women and children, following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel also faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.