Türkiye condemns Israeli attack on Al-Mawasi ‘safe zone’ for displaced in southern Gaza

Türkiye on Saturday condemned Israel's attack on Palestinians in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, Gaza, which had been designated a "safe zone," killing dozens of civilians, displaced persons seeking shelter from relentless Israeli attacks.

In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry called the incident "a phase of the Netanyahu government's effort to annihilate the Palestinians entirely."

"The fact that Israel once again opted for bloodshed when it was expected to respond to Hamas' positive response to the cease-fire (proposal) is evidence that the Netanyahu government is trying to prevent negotiations for a permanent cease-fire," the ministry said.

Türkiye urged countries supporting Israel to put an end to what it described as "barbarism," it said.

Earlier Saturday, more than 70 Palestinians were killed and nearly 300 others injured in an Israeli attack targeting displaced persons' camps in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the enclave's Health Ministry.

In a statement, the ministry said: "The death toll of the occupation's horrific massacre of citizens and displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis reached more than 71 martyrs and 289 injuries, including serious cases that medical teams are still dealing with up to this moment."

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.

More than 38,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 88,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.