The mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglou, great opponent of the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, called Hamas a terrorist organization, stating that Turkey is “deeply saddened” by the October 7 massacre.

“Any organized structure that carries out acts of terrorism and kills people en masse considered a terrorist organization by us” clarified the mayor of Istanbul, in an interview with the American network CNN.

Imamoglu clarified that similar crimes happen to Palestinianscalling on Israel to end the war against Hamas.

Imamoglu’s big victory in the municipal elections in March was simultaneous and the worst defeat for Erdogan and the Democracy and Development Party (AKP) in their two-plus decades in power, and it could to signal a change in the divided political landscape of the country.

Tayyip Erdogan openly supports Hamas, denounces Israel for its attack on the Gaza Strip and calls for an immediate ceasefire. Last week he met with the leader of the terrorist organization Ismail Haniya.

Last year, the Turkish leader likened the prime minister’s tactics Benjamin Netanyahu with those of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler labeling Israel a “terrorist state” because of its attack on Hamas in Gaza.