Turkey's Erdogan: 'No difference' between Netanyahu and Hitler

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that there was "no difference" between Benjamin Netanyahu and Adolf Hitler as he stepped up his attacks on the Israeli leader over the war in Gaza.

NATO member Turkey, which supports a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, has criticised Israel's air and ground assault on Gaza, called it a "terror state" and said its leaders must be tried in international courts.

Sharpening his rhetoric, Erdogan said Turkey would welcome academics and scientists facing persecution for their views on the conflict in Gaza, adding Western countries supporting Israel were complicit in what he called war crimes.

"There is no difference between the actions of Netanyahu and Hitler," he said during a ceremony in the capital in Ankara.

"He (Netanyahu) is richer than Hitler. All kind of support comes from the West and the United States," Erdogan added.

In response, Netanyahu accused Erdogan of praising and hosting Hamas leaders- while defending Israel's military operation in Gaza.

The Turkish leader has lashed out repeatedly at Israel for the scale of death and destruction caused by its response to Hamas' unprecedented October 7 cross-border attack.

He has branded Israel a "terrorist state", Netanyahu "the butcher of Gaza" while calling Hamas "a liberation group".

However, despite its criticism of Israel, Turkey has maintained commercial ties, drawing a backlash from opposition parties and Iran.

Ankara says trade with Israel has fallen sharply since October 7, when the Palestinian group Hamas launched a cross-border rampage that killed 1,200 people, prompting Israel to launch its war on Hamas.

Palestinian group members also took around 250 hostages.

Israel has conducted a relentless bombardment and ground invasion in which at least 21,320 people have been killed, according to the latest toll issued by Gaza's health ministry.

Most of the dead are women and children, it said, with more than 55,000 people wounded.