Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on June 10 that Israel's attacks on Syria and Lebanon had reached a ​point where they “also threaten Turkey”.

Israel's "aggression" amounted to a ‌threat to the whole world and must be brought to an end, he added.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu – who is often described as “a Hitler” by Turkey’s leader – was quick to respond to Erdogan’s remarks, igniting the pair’s latest sharp diplomatic dispute, replying: “The antisemitic dictator Erdogan, who supports the Hamas terrorist organisation, oppresses his own people and imprisons political rivals, is the last person who can preach morality to the State of Israel.”

The Israeli leader also accused Erdogan of carrying out “genocide against the Kurds.”

Netanyahu’s response to Erdogan prompted a reaction from Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, which rejected Netanyahu’s remarks and accused him of disseminating falsehoods. The ministry said Turkey would not cease in taking legal action against Israeli leaders through international judicial bodies. This will raise eyebrows among many analysts as Turkey itself does not have a good record in respecting the judgements of such bodies.

Later in the day, US President Donald Trump, taking questions in the Oval Office, was asked about the potential for a military conflict between Israel and Turkey. 

He replied on camera: “Erdogan is a very good friend of mine and we’ve worked very well together. I like him a lot – I’m not supposed to say that because the press will say ‘Oh, he likes Erdogan’ – but he’s a hell of a leader and a strong person, a very strong person.

“I haven’t heard that [that there may be an armed confrontation] at all and if I did I would call him [Erdogan] and make sure things were fine. I don’t think that [a military confrontation with Israel] would happen with Turkey; not as long as I am president because he respects me and I respect him, but beyond that we have a good friendship.”

In further remarks, Erdogan said Israel was leading a "sneaky effort" to destabilise African countries and ​the Mediterranean by igniting "the fire of discord" on the ethnically-split island of Cyprus, Reuters reported.

"These small entities, ‌whose ⁠ambitions far exceed their size, have boarded Israel's boat of mischief, taken on the role of Zionist subcontractors, and are pursuing some pipe dreams in the Eastern Mediterranean," Erdogan said, without elaborating.

"Nobody should chase adventures... I want ​everyone to know ​that if the ⁠rights of Turkey and Turkish Cypriots are violated in the Eastern Mediterranean, our response will be very clear and ​very strong."

Erdogan concluded: "Pulling Israel ⁠back ​to within the bounds of the rule ​of law has become a shared duty not just for certain countries, but for all of ​humanity."

In July 2024, Israel’s then foreign minister Israel Katz threatened Erdogan, telling him to remember what happened to Iraq’s former president, Saddam Hussein, who was eventually captured and executed after the US invasion of his country 23 years ago.