March 09, 2024 04:49 pm | Updated March 10, 2024 06:54 am IST - AnkaraTurkish President Recep Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Ankara "firmly backs" Palestinian militant group Hamas. "No one can make us qualify Hamas as a terrorist organisation," he said in a speech in Istanbul. "Turkiye is a country that speaks openly with Hamas leaders and firmly backs them." Israel has responded with a relentless ground and air offensive that the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said has killed at least 30,878 people in the besieged Palestinian enclave, mostly women and children. Mr. Erdogan has called Israel a "terrorist state" and accused it of conducting a "genocide" in Gaza.

Source: The Hindu March 10, 2024 01:34 UTC