Turkey's Erdogan condemns 'perfidious assassination' of Hamas chief

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday condemned the "perfidious assassination" in Tehran of his close ally and "brother"  Haniyeh, the political leader of Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas.

"May God have mercy on my brother Ismail Haniyeh, fallen in martyrdom after this odious attack," Erdogan wrote on the X social media platform, denouncing "Zionist barbarity".

"This shameful act aims to sabotage the Palestinian cause, the glorious Gazan resistance and our Palestinian brothers' just fight, and to intimidate Palestinians," Erdogan added.

Thousands of protesters marched after evening prayers in Istanbul to condemn the killing, many waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanting slogans hostile to Israel, while an Israeli flag was burned, AFP journalists saw.

"I am here because Israel martyred the representative of the Palestinian people," said 44-year-old demonstrator Mehmet.

"The great powers have an important role to play. If they don't prevent these massacres... history will accuse us of looking on."

Haniyeh, who spent much time in Turkey before the unprecedented October 7 attacks launched by Hamas on Israel that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, last paid a visit to Erdogan in Istanbul in April.

While Hamas is viewed by the United States, the European Union and Israel as a terrorist organisation, Erdogan described it as "a liberation movement".

Since 2011 and an agreement that saw more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Turkey has provided a refuge for Hamas officials.