Netanyahu Threatens Turkey with Military Action Alongside Qatar

Kokcha News Agency: According to the Hebrew-language newspaper Maariv, Netanyahu’s recent threats were not solely directed at Qatar but also indirectly targeted Turkey. In a report published on Wednesday evening, Maariv stated that Netanyahu warned any country hosting Hamas members that it would face Israeli military action. While Qatar was explicitly mentioned, Turkey, which also hosts Hamas leaders, was implicitly included in the warning.

Netanyahu reportedly stated, “Either you expel or prosecute them; if you don’t, we will do it ourselves.” Some Zionist analysts have speculated that Turkey could be the next target of a military strike similar to the recent attack on Qatar.

Channel 13, an Israeli television network, has analyzed Netanyahu’s recent press conference on the Gaza conflict, concluding that his narrative is inconsistent with the actual situation. Netanyahu’s presentation, as usual, portrayed him as always right while blaming the security establishment, particularly the Israeli military, for any shortcomings.

The report highlighted that Netanyahu provided a series of distorted arguments and data, some of which were half-truths or outright falsehoods. For instance, Netanyahu divided Gaza into two residential areas—Gaza City and the central refugee camp—but failed to mention Khan Yunis, a significant city in Gaza.

Netanyahu also claimed that Gaza City remains the last stronghold where the Israeli military has yet to conduct operations, despite the fact that two armored divisions were active in the city during the winter of 2023. Additionally, Netanyahu had previously stated in November 2023 that Gaza City was under siege, contradicting his current narrative.

During the press conference, Netanyahu accused a “senior security official” of saying, “We will not return even one living hostage.” This was later revealed to be a reference to former Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, who, in reality, had been actively working to secure hostage exchange deals and led minimal rescue operations for hostages during military actions.

Netanyahu also boasted about mobilizing hundreds of thousands of reserve troops before Israel realized it was in a state of war. However, Channel 13 pointed out that Major General Oded Sivak, head of the Operations Directorate, and Herzi Halevi had already declared war in the first hour of the campaign.

On the topic of humanitarian cities, Netanyahu claimed that Israel would provide safe exit routes for civilians and allow humanitarian aid to enter non-combat zones. However, the humanitarian city in Rafah has made no progress and appears to be a failed plan, with little to no operational capacity.