According to Turkey's Anadolu News Agency, Turkish President Erdogan spoke at a "rally of solidarity with Palestine" held in Istanbul on the 28th with the participation of tens of thousands of people, saying, "We will tell the world that Israel is a war criminal!" Israel, you are the occupier, the aggressor! Erdogan also criticized Western countries for turning a blind eye to Israel's atrocities and being "the main culprit behind the Gaza massacre." Earlier, the Turkish Foreign Ministry criticized Israel in a statement for "committing crimes against humanity in front of the whole world and not even tolerating criticism and condemnation." Subsequently, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced on social media on the evening of the 28th local time: "In view of Turkey's serious remarks, I have ordered the recall of diplomatic representatives and will reassess Israel's relations with Turkey." ”
Nowadays, there are not many countries that can harden Israel, and how dare Turkey, as Europe, publicly condemn Israel, and how strong its military strength is. First of all, Turkey, as a member of the NATO military bloc, The total strength of the active army is as high as 639,000 people, divided into three major branches of the navy, land and air force, and is the second largest army in NATO, of which the total strength of the army is 400,000 people, accounting for more than eighty percent of the total number of the whole army, with four group army headquarters and nine army headquarters, 14 armored brigades, 17 mechanized brigades, nine infantry brigades, etc., equipped with 4,200 main battle tanks, including 397 Leopard tanks, 932 M60 tanks, and 2,876 M48 series tanks, in addition to 3,300 infantry fighting vehicles, 3,000 artillery pieces of various types, and nearly 1,000 ground-to-air missiles, it is a veritable military power.
On the naval side, the total strength is more than 51,000 troops, including 3,100 Marines and 1,050 Coast Guards. In terms of equipment, there are 31 large capital ships, including one light aircraft carrier, 21 frigates, 13 conventional submarines, and 7 large auxiliary combat ships, with a total tonnage of more than 190,000 tons. However, with the commissioning of domestic amphibious ships and the test flights of stealth UAVs, Turkey may become the first country in the Middle East and even the world to have UAV aircraft carriers.
In general, while the combat capabilities of the oceans are relatively weak, its ability to control the waters of the region is rather terrible.
The Turkish Air Force is NATO's third-largest air force, with a total strength of 630,000 troops and more than 1,000 combat aircraft of all types. The Air Force establishment includes two tactical air commands, 11 strike fighter squadrons, seven fighter squadrons, five transport aircraft squadrons and six surface-to-air missile squadrons. The main models are 232 F-16CD fighters, 200 F-4EF2 fighters and more than 100 F-5 light fighters, mainly third-generation aircraft, supplemented by second-generation aircraft.
However, the Turkish Air Force has weak long-range delivery capabilities relative to air defense and ground attack capabilities. Currently, the Air Force's long-range deliveries rely on 13 C-130 Hercules series transport aircraft, 160 C-160Ds and 52 CN235 tactical transport aircraft. In addition, the Turkish Air Force is equipped with a large scale of various types of UAVs, and its Chinese-made TB2 UAV performs well on the battlefield.
Overall, the Turkish Air Force has made tremendous progress in military strength, and although there is still a gap with the strategic air force, it is sufficient to meet the needs of military deterrence in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. This is also due to the fact that Turkey has 14 military garrisons around the world, demonstrating its strong military might. Turkey, despite its ambition to rebuild the Ottoman Empire, has shown no fear even against the two great powers, the United States and Russia.
So the Turkish president has just publicly condemned Israel's actions, and Erdogan may also be using the opportunity to improve his international standing and that of Turkey, as well as to establish an image of his leader at home and abroad. His tough rhetoric may garner some support at home and abroad, but it could also escalate tensions between Turkey and Western countries, particularly the United States and Israel.