Erdogan says over 1,000 Hamas members hospitalised in Turkey
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Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that "more than 1,000 members" of the Palestinian militant group Hamas were being treated in Turkish hospitals amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
Erdogan, a vocal critic of Israel's war in the Palestinian territory following Hamas's attacks on October 7, made the announcement to reporters, adding that he considered Hamas "a resistance organisation".
"So many Hamas members have been killed. The whole of the West is attacking them with all sorts of arms and munitions," he said.
"Calling Hamas ... a terrorist organisation would be cruel," he said, adding that Greece and Turkey disagreed on this "very important" question.
Hamas is classed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the United States and the European Union among others.
The October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also seized some 250 hostages, scores of whom were freed during a week-long truce in November.
Israel's bombardment and offensive in Gaza have killed over 35,000 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.