Turkey firmly backs Hamas: President Erdogan

Ankara/Turkey: Turkish administration completely backs Palestinian militant group Hamas, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday. He said that no one could make them brand Hamas a terrorist organisation, Agence France-Presse reported.

Delivering a speech in Istanbul, he said that Turkey openly speaks with Hamas leaders and firmly backs them. Erdogan called Israel a terrorist state and accused it of running a genocide in Gaza.

On Friday, Erdogan said that the March local elections in the country is his last, ending his term in power that spanned more than two decades, AFP reported.

The Turkish president has always been a staunch critic of Israel since the war broke in October 7, when Hamas committed a lightning operation into Israel's territory. The attack had taken some 1,160 lives, according to AFP.

After the attack, Israel started its fully-fledged war in Gaza, so far killing 30,878 people in the enclave. Israel pounded Gaza relentlessly along with ground attacks. The death count is according to the information from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. Most of them are women and children.

Erdogan, who came to power in 2003, said on Friday that he is working non-stop and all are busy and engaged because of him, adding that the polls are his last. He was speaking at a meeting at the TUGVA Young Turks Foundation.

However, he was positive that his party, the conservative Justice and Development (AKP), will remain in power, though he will be leaving office. He promised that the results of the March 31 local elections would be a blessing for those who extended him support.