During a Hamas rally in Gaza celebrating the foiling of the attempted coup in Turkey, Hamas spokesman and MP Mushir Al-Masri declared that just like Turkish people shed their blood in the Mediterranean Sea, "we are willing to sacrifice our blood on the shores of Istanbul." The rally was broadcast live on Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV on July 16.

Al-Masri: "We stand here today, particularly in Gaza, just as our nation stands everywhere - here in Jabalia, in the besieged Gaza Strip - because Turkey has stood by us with blood. We are willing to sacrifice our blood for the sake of the Turkish people, whose blood was shed in the Mediterranean Sea. They have come from the Sea of Marmara and from the Black Sea in support of the Mediterranean Sea here, and in support of besieged Gaza. Their shed blood has reached the shores of Gaza, and we are willing to sacrifice our blood, to shed our blood, on the shores of Istanbul and the (other) shores of Turkey."