Defense Minister Israel Katz called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a "paper sultan" on Thursday, hitting back after Erdogan used his UN General Assembly speech to attack Israel.
In a post on X, Katz accused Erdogan of financing and embracing Hamas and of dreaming of restoring the Ottoman Empire. He also mocked Turkey's new defense pact with Saudi Arabia: "Now he's signed the 'Mecca Agreement' to defend Saudi Arabia, but when the Houthis fired missiles at Mecca and it was time to honor his word, he vanished into thin air."
"Israel is strong and knows how to protect itself," Katz added. "We're not the Kurds and the desperate people he still oppresses in Turkey today."
Erdogan told the General Assembly on Tuesday that the UN could no longer keep the peace and called for Security Council reform. He urged states that have not recognized a Palestinian state to reconsider, and called Gaza "our time's most inhumane, most embarrassing concentration camp."
The exchange follows a warning in which Katz named Turkey directly. On Tuesday he threatened to destroy what remains of Gaza City and force about one million Gazans to evacuate if Hamas, provoked by Iran or Turkey, takes a single Israeli hostage. He said such threats were the only way to deter Israel's enemies. Katz also said the IDF would not withdraw from any of the 63% of Gaza it controls until Hamas fully disarms.
Hours later, Hebrew media reported three kidnapping attempts against soldiers near the Yellow Line. The IDF called most of the report "completely baseless," denying any kidnapping attempts or retreat.
Not everyone was impressed by the warning. Brig.-Gen. (res.) Ofer Winter, founder of Amcha Yisrael, told Katz to stop issuing empty threats. "251 people were abducted and that didn't happen," he said.
