Ankara ready to help de-escalate Israel-Palestine conflict

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held calls on Saturday with his regional counterparts to discuss the fighting between Israel and Palestinians, a foreign ministry source said, as Ankara said it stood ready to help de-escalate the situation.

The source said Fidan discussed the conflict with his Saudi, Qatari, Iranian, Palestinian and Egyptian counterparts, but did not provide any further details.

Earlier, Türkiye's foreign ministry repeated President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's call for restraint and strongly condemned the loss of civilian lives in the conflict.

"We emphasize that acts of violence and escalation linked to these benefit nobody," the ministry said. It also urged citizens in the region to remain in secure, indoor locations.

"Türkiye is always ready to provide any help it can to ensure that the developments in question do not escalate further and get taken under control without spreading to a wider region," it added. "In this regard, we continue our intensive contacts with the relevant parties."

The conversations came as Palestinian group Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, with rockets targeting enemy sites, airports, and military installations.

In response, the Israeli army initiated Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in the air attacks, according to medical sources in Gaza, while Israeli authorities said more than scores of Israelis were killed in what has been described as "war" by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hamas, the group running the blockaded Gaza Strip, said its operation was in response to desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence.

Türkiye has voiced "deep" concern over the development, offering help to de-escalate the situation.

Ankara supports a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, including the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The former allies mutually expelled ambassadors in 2018 and have often traded barbs on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But a regional charm offensive launched by Ankara in 2020 prompted a thaw and subsequently led to the re-appointment of envoys.

Prior to Saturday's violence, Erdoğan had said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may visit Turkey in October-November to discuss cooperation on energy, while Türkiye's energy minister said he planned to visit Israel in November.