ANKARA

Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned a recent social media post by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz targeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, calling it an attempt to cover up Israel's crimes.

"We consider the disrespectful post by the Israeli Foreign Minister targeting our esteemed President as a tone that can only be adopted by an official of a state accused of genocide," said a ministry statement.

It emphasized that such accusations are part of Israel’s efforts to obscure its own criminal actions.

Strongly criticizing the social media post, the ministry said: "Such slander and lies are part of Israel's efforts to cover up the crimes it has committed."

Türkiye will continue to fight for peace and justice, it added.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.

More than 37,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and nearly 86,400 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.