Türkiye submitted a formal bid to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday.

Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani has met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara’s Presidential Complex on Thursday amid heightened regional tensions.

The Amiri Diwan said in an earlier statement that Sheikh Tamim was heading to Ankara for “a working visit”, without disclosing further details on the matter. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan received the Qatari leader upon his arrival.

Sheikh Tamim and Erdogan previously met in Kazakhstan on the sidelines of the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit on July 4.

The amir’s visit comes a week after Israel killed Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in an escalatory move that has fueled regional tensions.

Qatar, a crucial mediator between Israel and Hamas, had strongly condemned the assassination and described it as “a heinous crime, a dangerous escalation and a blatant violation of international and humanitarian law.”

Erdogan also expressed his outrage at the “despicable assassination” of Haniyeh.

“This despicable assassination aims to undermine the Palestinian cause, the glorious struggle of Gaza, and the legitimate resistance of our Palestinian brothers[…]but as has happened until today, Zionist barbarism will not be able to achieve its goal of eliminating this issue,” he said on July 31.

Sheikh Tamim was the only Arab leader at Haniyeh’s funeral prayers in Doha, where he was buried after living in the country since 2019. 

Türkiye’s foreign minister was also among the top officials at the funeral in addition to Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and Director of Turkish National Intelligence Ibrahim Kalin.

Israel has yet to claim responsibility for the killing of Haniyeh as Iran and the “Axis of Resistance” vow to retaliate. Haniyeh was also assassinated hours after Israel killed Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in an attack in Beirut on July 30.

Meanwhile, Türkiye’s foreign minister was in Egypt on Sunday where he met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.

In a joint press conference with Abdelatty, Fidan said the assassination of Haniyeh “clearly” showed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “does not want peace.”

“Netanyahu wants to set the entire region on fire. Israel is pursuing violence and expansionism,” Fidan added, urging Tel Aviv’s “owners” to “hold onto its leash.”

Türkiye joins South Africa’s ICJ case

Türkiye submitted a formal bid to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday. Other countries that joined the case at The Hague include Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, and Spain.

The Court’s Genocide Convention defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

The ICJ had previously issued provisional measures on January 26, during which it ordered Israel to prevent incitement to commit genocide to allow more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

However, Israel maintained its chokehold over the entry of aid and destroyed the vital Rafah Crossing following its long-awaited and widely-criticized invasion on May 6. 

Israel’s genocidal war in the Gaza Strip reached its 10-month mark on Wednesday, with at least 39,677 people killed and 91,645 wounded. 

The war also displaced at least 1.9 million people out of the Gaza Strip’s population of 2.1 million – down from the United Nations’ initial estimate of 2.3 million, following the deaths and exodus of people fleeing for safety.

Qatar-Türkiye humanitarian efforts in Gaza

Qatar and Türkiye had joined efforts in May to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip by launching the Turkiye-Qatar Gaza Goodness Ship.

The ship had set off from the Turkish Mersin International Port to Egypt’s Port of El-Arish, carrying 1,908 tonnes of vital humanitarian aid for the besieged enclave.

The ship carried 1,358 tonnes of aid provided by the Qatar Fund for Development and 550 tonnes donated by Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency.

Both countries also launched the “Early Recovery Plan” in Gaza, a new initiative announced during the visit of a Turkish delegation to Doha, chaired by Deputy Foreign Minister Yasin Ekrem Serim, between July 2-5.

The joint plan drew inspiration from the recovery plan of the deadly earthquake that struck Türkiye last year.