Turkey says it will seek an Interpol Red Notice for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding a legal confrontation to worsening tensions with Israel over Syria and Gaza.
Turkey’s justice minister, Akin Gurlek, said arrest warrants had been issued for Netanyahu and another accused person. He said the case involves allegations including genocide, crimes against humanity and torture, linked to Israel’s targeting of 35 people in international waters.
The case concerns an incident involving the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was attempting to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza. In May, the Israeli military fired on at least two vessels travelling towards the territory. The flotilla had previously been stopped during similar aid missions in international waters, and Haaretz reported that more than 70 Turkish citizens were among those detained.
A Red Notice is a request to law-enforcement agencies worldwide to locate a person and consider temporary arrest while extradition or another legal process is pursued. Interpol reviews requests from member countries before deciding whether to issue one. Even if a notice is issued, it does not require every country to arrest Netanyahu.
Turkey has said it intends to use all available legal means to hold Israel accountable for its actions in Gaza. It also wants officials in other countries, as well as Turkey, to be encouraged to arrest Netanyahu.
Israel’s prime minister’s office condemned Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In a statement on X, it accused Erdogan of antisemitism, genocide against Kurds, sheltering Hamas militants and occupying half of Cyprus. The statement also accused him of imprisoning opposition journalists and politicians in record numbers.
The office said Erdogan was trying to extend his aggression against Israel into Syria and declared that Israel would not tolerate it. Erdogan had previously described Netanyahu as a war criminal after Israel’s attacks on Gaza and called for him to face prosecution.
The dispute has sharpened following an Israeli strike on a Syrian military base close to Turkey’s border. Syrian television reported eight airstrikes on the runway and a storage centre at Abu al-Duhur airbase on Tuesday.
Israel had accused Syria of allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the base. Syria and Turkey blamed the Israeli military for the attacks and warned that such strikes could further increase regional tensions.
US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack called the operation an unnecessary escalation and said it did not advance regional stability. He said Washington had investigated Israeli intelligence suggesting Turkey might place military equipment at the airbase and had confirmed that this was not happening.
Barrack said diplomatic contacts, including nearly two hours of backchannel talks between Syria’s foreign minister and the head of Mossad, had preceded the strike. He said Israel attacked the runway without informing Washington or Turkey, leaving Turkey unsure of the aircraft’s purpose and potentially facing a decision over whether to deploy its own fighter jets.
He offered two possibilities: a breakdown in communication among Mossad, the Israeli military and Netanyahu’s office, or an attempt to provoke Turkey. Barrack said he leaned towards the second possibility. He added that Israel wants to prevent Syrian bases from obstructing its access to Iran, while Syrian airspace gives Israel a clear route for monitoring Iran.
Turkey had also issued arrest warrants against 37 senior Israeli officials in November 2025 over allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity.
