Turkey seeking nearly 5,000 years in prison for Netanyahu over October Gaza flotilla
The list of 35 people indicted also includes Defense Minister Katz and National Security Minister Ben-Gvir, with Netanyahu, Katz and Ben-Gvir responding to the indictment on Saturday.
Turkey on Friday indicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with 35 other Israeli officials, for the naval interception of the “Sumud” flotilla in Gaza in October 2025, and sought up to 4,596 years in prison as punishment, Turkish media reported.
Istanbul’s public prosecutor accused those indicted of taking part in a military operation against civilians in international waters and requested a minimum sentence of 1,102 years.
The list of those indicted also includes Defense Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Turkish Justice Minister Akın Gürlek called the indictment a reflection of the country’s commitment to international law.
Turkey had already issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2025, as well as other senior Israeli officials.
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and Brazilian activist Thiago Avila sit in a ship en route to Israel, after Israel intercepted some of the ships in the Sumud Global Flotilla, in this image released October 2, 2025. (credit: ISRAEL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS/Handout via REUTERS)
The global Sumud flotilla set sail in late August, made up of dozens of ships and hundreds of activists from several countries.
Israel arrested more than 400 participants in the flotilla, including anti-Israel and climate activist Greta Thunberg, before deporting them shortly after.
Israeli officials respond to indictment
Netanyahu, Katz and Ben-Gvir all responded to the indictment on Saturday in separate messages on X/Twitter, with Ben-Gvir posting: “Erdogan, do you understand English? Fuck you.”
Netanyahu responded by accusing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of “massacred his own Kurdish citizens.”
“Israel, under my leadership, will continue to fight against the Iranian terrorist regime and its proxies,” Netanyahu said.
Katz accused Erdogan of being a “paper tiger” for “failing to respond to missiles fired from Iran into Turkish soil,” calling the indictment a “great absurdity.”
“Israel will continue to defend itself with strength and determination – and it would be better for Erdoğan to sit quietly and remain silent,” Katz concluded.
Later Saturday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry responded to the messages by accusing Netanyahu of being “the Hitler of our times” in a message posted on X/Twitter.
“The fact that our president was targeted by Israeli officials with baseless, brazen and false allegations is the result of discomfort caused by the truths we have consistently expressed on all platforms,” the message read, adding that Turkey “will continue to stand with innocent civilians and continue its efforts to ensure that Netanyahu is held accountable for the crimes he committed.”
