A Turkish court has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges related to genocide in Gaza, reports Turkiye Today.
Warrants were also issued for 36 high-level Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Border and Security Minister Eyal Zamir, and Israeli Naval Forces Commander David Saar Salama, according to a press statement from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office dated Nov. 7, 2025.
"In light of the evidence obtained, it has been determined that Israeli State officials bear criminal responsibility for the systematic acts of 'crimes against humanity' and 'genocide' committed in Gaza, as well as for the actions carried out against the Global Sumud Fleet," it said in the statement.
"It was determined that the suspects could not be apprehended as they are not currently in Türkiye."
In early October, the Israeli military intercepted the final boat in an aid flotilla attempting to reach blockaded Gaza — a day after stopping most of the vessels and detaining some 450 activists, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg.
In a statement, the Global Sumud Flotilla said Israeli naval forces had now "illegally intercepted all 42 of our vessels — each carrying humanitarian aid, volunteers, and the determination to break Israel's illegal siege on Gaza."
Several international bodies, human rights organizations, and other individual nations have accused Netanyahu and other Israeli officials of genocide and crimes against humanity.
In November 2024, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, specifically citing the intentional targeting of civilians and the use of starvation as a method of warfare.
In September 2025, an independent United Nations Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel is responsible for committing genocide in Gaza and that top officials, including Netanyahu, had incited the commission of genocide.
Israel has vehemently rejected all accusations of genocide, calling them "baseless," "absurd," and an antisemitic "blood libel," and maintains its actions are in self-defense against Hamas, adhering to international law.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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