Hasan Bitmez, a Turkish member of parliament, has been formally declared deceased. He collapsed to the ground on Tuesday during a plenary session, purportedly suffering from a heart attack.

54-year-old opposition Felicity (Saadet) Party lawmaker Hasan Bitmez passed away in Ankara City Hospital.

Fahrettin Koca, the nation’s health minister, made the announcement of his passing, according to Reuters.

After earning his degree from Al Azhar University in Cairo, Bitmez went on to become chairman of the Centre for Islamic Union Research. Prior to this, he had experience working for non-governmental Islamic organisations.

He has one child and was married.

Bitmez was seen collapsing to the ground in a video that Visegrad 24 released on Tuesday, not long after he criticised the Israeli government for its continuous assault in Gaza.

Other parliamentarians hurried over to join him.

According to Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, who was cited by Time of Israel, Bitmez was hospitalised and had a “very critical and serious” illness.

Bitmez was a well-liked opponent of President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party (AKP) before to his passing because of Turkey’s continued trade with Israel in spite of the Gaza War and the government’s harsh verbal denunciation of Israel’s military attack.

“You permit ships to travel to Israel and you blatantly refer to it as trade… Bitmez began his remarks by putting a banner that read, “Murderer Israel; collaborator AKP,” on the platform. “You are Israel’s accomplice,” he continued.

“You are collaborators and have the blood of Palestinians on your hands.” During a discussion about the foreign ministry’s 2024 budget, he warned legislators, “You contribute to every bomb Israel drops on Gaza.”

Upon concluding his statement, Bitmez unexpectedly collapsed to the ground, prompting other members of parliament to hasten to his aid.