Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Israel on Monday of the risks of an indiscriminate attack against civilians in the Gaza Strip, in its war against Hamas.
Erdogan told his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, during a telephone conversation that “collectively and indiscriminately attacking the population of Gaza will only increase suffering and reinforce the spiral of violence in the region,” according to a statement from the Turkish presidency.
The Turkish leader, who openly supports the Palestinian cause and favors a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, skipped a weekly ministerial meeting to hold emergency diplomatic telephone talks on the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel.
Erdogan also spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
The Turkish president assured that “Turkey will continue its efforts to end the conflict,” according to a statement issued after the conversation with Abbas.
The Islamic group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israeli territory this Saturday, called Operation “Al-Aqsa Storm”, with the launch of thousands of rockets and the incursion of armed militiamen by land, sea and air.
In response to the surprise attack, Israel bombed several Hamas facilities in the Gaza Strip from the air, in an operation it called “Iron Swords.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel is “at war” with Hamas.
The latest report from the Palestinian Ministry of Health records at least 560 deaths due to Israeli airstrikes in Gaza – including dozens of minors and women – which raises the total number of deaths on both sides after the armed clashes that began on Saturday. .
Source: TSF
