Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened Israel with a possible military intervention amid mounting tensions over the Gaza conflict and the Israelis’ move towards what could turn into an all-out-war with Hezbollah in Lebanon and possible wider regional conflict.

Speaking in his hometown of Rize on July 28, Erdogan stressed Turkey’s need to demonstrate strength in response to Israel's military actions in Gaza.  

"If we are strong, Israel cannot [behave like this toward] Palestine. Just as we intervened in Karabakh [in ally Azerbaijan’s conflict with the Armenians] and Libya, we can do the same to them. There would be no reason for not doing that," he said.

Erdogan also warned that the day might come when Israel might attack Turkey, saying: “Who can guarantee that those who are razing Gaza today will not set their sights on Anatolia tomorrow?”

Although Erdogan is known for his fiery rhetoric that often comes to nothing, with the situation surrounding Israel, Gaza and Lebanon so volatile, such a threat of military action from the Turkish leader cannot be entirely dismissed.

Global leaders throughout the weekend have been engaged in intensive diplomacy to dissuade Israel from intensifying attacks on Lebanon, with anxieties growing that a regional war could be sparked in response to a rocket strike that killed 12 children playing football in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights. Israel blamed the attack on Hezbollah, but the Iran-backed militant and political group denied it was responsible.

Notably, Turkey’s state-run news service Anadolu Agency omitted the part of Erdogan’s speech comparing the situation with Israel to Karabakh and Libya from the article text version it sent to subscribers. 

Responding to Erdogan’s threat, Israeli opposition leader and former foreign minister Yair Lapid tweeted: “President Erdogan is ranting and raving again. He is a danger to the Middle East. The world, and especially NATO members, must strongly condemn his outrageous threats against Israel and force him to end his support for Hamas.

“We won’t accept threats from a wannabe dictator.”

Turkey provided military advisors and weapons such as armed drones to Azerbaijan in its war with the Armenians over breakaway Karabakh. It did the same thing for the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya in its conflict with the forces of Khalifa Haftar.  

Turkey’s combat drones were widely seen as very effective in both conflicts, but Israel’s advanced air defence systems would be expected to deal with them quite comfortably.

Erdogan in his remarks also criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's July 25 speech to the US Congress. As he has done repeatedly since the Gaza war began, he likened Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.

"This is exactly the Crusader mentality that is being revived. On one side, there are those in the [US] House of Representatives applauding someone who is a Hitler imitator. But outside the House, thousands are condemning them. Seeing people applaud the murderer of 40,000 innocents [in Gaza] makes us worried not just for humanity but for our future as well."

The figure of 40,000 referred to by Erdogan was calculated by the Palestinian health ministry, but it does not distinguish between civilians and Hamas combatants. The civilian death toll, is, however, undoubtedly huge.

Erdogan also criticised State of Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas for failing to take up an invitation to speak in the Turkish parliament.  

“He should apologise to us for not coming. We are waiting to see if he will come. Regardless, we continue to voice the concerns of the Palestinian people and our Palestinian brothers in every meeting and gathering,” said Erdogan.

Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz last week posted on social media a mocked-up fake scene in which a “toddler” Erdogan is sat in the lap of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, though Iran and Turkey are not known for coordinating their foreign policies.

In March, Erdogan vowed to “send Netanyahu to Allah”, while in May he called Israel’s leader a "psychopath", "maniac" and "vampire".