Turkey's embassy in Tel Aviv lowered its flag to half-mast on August 2, apparently in mourning for Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, prompting a sharp rebuke from Israeli officials, local channel N12 reported.

The move comes after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan declared a day of mourning following Haniyeh's killing in Tehran earlier this week, widely attributed to Israel but not officially claimed by the state.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz ordered the Turkish deputy ambassador to be summoned for a severe reprimand.

"If embassy representatives want to mourn the arch-terrorist Haniyeh, they should go to Turkey and mourn with Erdogan," Katz said in a statement.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the Turkish ambassador to be expelled, stating the flag lowering "shows exactly what they think of us".

The incident has further strained already tense relations between Israel and Turkey. Reuters reported earlier this week that Turkey has been blocking all possible cooperation between Israel and Nato since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Separately, Turkey blocked access to Instagram across the country on August 2 after the social network removed content expressing sorrow over Haniyeh's death, according to local media reports.

Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for Haniyeh's killing, which occurred in Tehran on July 31, which has heightened regional tensions between several regional actors including Iran, Turkey and Iraq.

Pictures coming in from Doha show the participation of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, and his father, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa, in prayers over the body of the martyr leader Ismail Haniyeh, and his companion, Waseem Abu Shaaban, in Doha, Qatar News Agency reported.

Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei on August 1 conducted funeral prayers over the body of Ismail Haniyeh, political chief of Hamas, who was assassinated in Tehran the previous day, prior to his body being flown back to Doha for burial. 

Khamenei vowed vengeance in a message on the day of the killing, blaming Israel for the attack following the hit against a senior ally on its territory.

Khamenei said: “The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime [Israel] martyred our dear guest in our home and left us in mourning, but it also paved the way for severe punishment for itself.

“In this bitter and difficult incident that occurred within the territory of the Islamic Republic, we consider it our duty to seek retribution for his blood,” he added.