Tens of thousands of Turks gathered last night in front of the Hagia Sophia Mosque in Istanbul, to participate in the “Last Call for Martyr Haniyeh” event, which was launched by the head of the political bureau of Hamas before his martyrdom in Iran. In a statement by Hamas on Telegram, Haniyeh called two days before his martyrdom for “August 3 to be a national and international day in support of Gaza and Palestinian prisoners by organizing demonstrations and marches in Arab and Islamic countries and the world.

The demonstrators in front of the Grand Hagia Sophia Mosque carried Turkish and Palestinian flags and Palestinian keffiyehs, and chanted slogans calling for the freedom of Palestine. They also chanted, “Liberate Palestine from the river to the sea,” “Murderous America, get out of Palestine,” “Murderous Israel, get out of Palestine,” “Our souls are a sacrifice for Al-Aqsa,” and “Greetings to Hamas, continue the resistance.”

The demonstrators raised banners in Turkish, Arabic, and English bearing slogan
s such as “Genocide in Gaza,” “Stop the Israeli genocide,” and “Let the massacre stop, let the killing of children stop,” in addition to a picture of Ismail Haniyeh.

Last Wednesday, Hamas announced the assassination of Haniyeh in an Israeli airstrike targeting his residence in Tehran, the day after his participation in the inauguration ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, while Tel Aviv has not yet adopted this.

Both Hamas and Iran have vowed to respond to the assassination of Haniyeh, while international contacts and efforts to calm the situation continue for fear of the conflict expanding in the region.

The assassination of Haniyeh came while Israel, with American support, has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7, which has left more than 130,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing.

Tel Aviv continues the war, ignoring the UN Security Council resolution to stop it immediately, and the orders of the International Cour
t of Justice to take measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency