Israel’s foreign ministry summoned the deputy Turkish ambassador for a reprimand on Friday after Turkey’s embassy in Tel Aviv lowered its flag to half mast in response to the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

“The State of Israel will not tolerate expressions of mourning for a murderer like Ismail Haniyeh,” foreign minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

Haniyeh was killed in Tehran while there to attend the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan declared on Friday, August 2, a day of national mourning for Haniyeh.

Katz’s statement said Haniyeh had been Hamas leader during the October 7 attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners and saw more than 250 taken hostage into Gaza, triggering Israel’s assault on the coastal enclave.

Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli, responding to Katz’s remarks on social media platform X, said: “You cannot achieve peace by killing negotiators, threatening diplomats,” in an apparent reference to Haniyeh’s killing.

Instagram access

Turkey’s communications authority blocked access to the social media platform Instagram on Friday, the latest instance of a clampdown on websites in the country.

The Information and Communication Technologies Authority, which regulates the Internet, announced the decision early on Friday.

Yeni Safak and other media said access was blocked in response to Instagram removing posts by Turkish users that expressed condolences over the killing of Ismail Haniyeh.