Turkey's Erdogan warns Israel against Lebanon war, calls Netanyahu 'mentally ill'

ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said Israel has set its eyes on Lebanon as he accused some Western powers of supporting the Israeli government's plans to expand the war in Gaza.

“Israel, which devastated Gaza, is now setting its sights on Lebanon, as we see,” Erdogan said in a televised address to his fellow party members in the Turkish parliament. “We see that while Western powers speak differently on camera, behind the scenes they are patting Israel on the back and even supporting it.”

“Plans to spread the war to the region will lead to a great disaster,” he warned.

Later in the day, Erdogan reiterated his messages during a phone call with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

“Israel's efforts to spread the conflict are extremely dangerous, and Turkey stands by Lebanon against Israel's aggressive policies,” he told the Lebanese premier, according to a Turkish readout of the call

Fears of a broader conflict in the region have been growing since last week after the Israeli military said in a June 18 statement that “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved.” In a similar message on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans for shifting some Israeli troops to the north of the country, where the border with Lebanon has seen clashes between the Jewish state and Lebanese Hezbollah since the start of the war.

Erdogan also took fresh aim at Netanyahu. "It is extremely tragic that countries that gloat over freedom, human rights and justice have become slave to a mentally ill person like Netanyahu," he said.

The Turkish president also criticized Muslim-majority countries for what he described as their failure to confront Israel.

“We sadly observe that the Islamic world is acting lethargically,” he said. “Turkey stands by the brotherly Lebanese people and government. I call on other regional countries to stand in solidarity with Lebanon too.”

The remarks quickly sparked a flare-up between Turkey and Israel, with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz accusing Erdogan of declaring support for Hezbollah. 

Erdogan “announced his support for Hezbollah against Israel's threats,” the Israeli minister wrote on social media platform X, adding that he's trying to “deny Israel its right to self-defense against a terror organization attacking from Lebanon under Iran's orders.”

The Hamas-Israel war has left Turkey-Israel normalization, which saw great progress last year after four years of hiatus, in tatters. Both countries downgraded their diplomatic ties following the outbreak of the war on Oct. 7. Erdogan, one of the most outspoken supporters of the Palestinian cause, accused Netanyahu of committing genocide in Gaza, and the Turkish government announced it would cut trade ties with the Jewish state in May.

Since the outbreak of war, more than 38,000 people have been killed, including the Gaza Health Ministry's tally of over 37,000 Palestinians and at least 1,478 Israelis as well as scores of foreign workers and Lebanese.