WATCH: Turkish Lawmaker Suffers Heart Attack after Declaring Israel Will ‘Not Escape The Wrath Of…’ – News18

In a dramatic incident at the Turkish Parliament, a 53-year-old lawmaker suffered a heart attack while giving a speech on the Israel-Hamas conflict. During his impassioned rant, Saadet Party leader Hasan Bitmez stumbled and dropped to his knees before lying flat on his back.

Before collapsing on the ground, Bitmez said “We can perhaps hide from our conscience but not from history.” He declared Israel would “not be able to escape the wrath of God”, according to a BBC report. Video footage captured the event, showing Bitmez fainting and hitting the floor. Emergency responders provided CPR, and he was later taken out on a stretcher. Fahrettin Koca, the health minister, disclosed that Bitmez, a diabetic with two heart stents, was in serious condition.

After the incident, Bitmez was taken to the Bilkent City Hospital in Ankara where he is listed as in ‘critical condition’.  He underwent angiography, which revealed that two of his veins were blocked. Despite attempts at intervention proving unsuccessful, Bitmez was subsequently connected to a heart-lung pump to provide vital support.

Israel and Turkey normalised ties only last year, but ties have soured since Hamas’ October 7 strike into southern Israel. Though Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken a strong stand against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, some quarters in the country believe it is not enough.

Last month, Erdogan branded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “the butcher of Gaza” and accused him of spawning anti-Semitism across the world. Erdogan has lashed out repeatedly at Israel for the scale of death and destruction caused by its response to Hamas militants’ unprecedented October 7 cross-border attack. He has branded Israel a “terrorist state” and called Hamas “a liberation group”.

Israel is currently pressing ahead with an offensive against Gaza’s Hamas rulers that it says could go on for weeks or months. More than 17,700 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, around two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory. About 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced within the besieged territory, where United Nations agencies say there is no safe place to flee.

Israel says 97 of its soldiers have died in its ground offensive after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, and taking about 240 hostages. Qatar, which has played a key mediating role, says efforts to stop the war and have all hostages released will continue, but a willingness to discuss a cease-fire is fading.

(With agency inputs)