Turkey and Pakistan Thursday declared Friday, 2 Aug, a day of national mourning over the killing of the head of Hamas’s political bureau and tall Palestinian leader Ismail Haniyeh.
“In order to show our support for the Palestinian Cause and our solidarity with our Palestinian siblings, a day of national mourning was declared tomorrow [Friday 2 August] due to Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh’s martyrdom,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan posted on X.
Pakistan will observe a day of mourning and “condemnation” on Friday, according to a statement.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif added his voice earlier Wednesday to growing criticism concerning the assassination of Haniyeh in a missile strike in the Iranian capital Tehran, describing it as a “blatant violation of international law.”
“Israel has trampled upon all international laws by committing this act,” Sharif said while addressing ruling alliance lawmakers in Islamabad, according to state-run Pakistan Television.
Earlier on Wednesday, Erdogan condemned the assassination of his “brother” Haniyeh and said the killing would not break Palestinians’ will.
He denounced it as a perfidious act and vowed to continue supporting the Palestinian cause “with all our means and strength.”
“May God have mercy on my brother Ismail Haniyeh, fallen in martyrdom after this odious attack,” Erdogan wrote on X earlier on Thursday, denouncing “Zionist barbarity.”
Haniyeh, who spent much time in Turkey before the conflict started, last paid a visit to Erdogan in Istanbul in April.
Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched through the streets of central Istanbul late on Wednesday to protest the assassination.
The demonstrators held posters with Haniyeh’s photos and banners reading, “Martyr Haniyeh, Jerusalem is our cause and your path is our path.”
