Turkey Calls for Immediate Halt to Israeli Ground Offensive in Gaza

"At a time when negotiations are ongoing, Israel’s widening of its attacks in Gaza weakens all efforts to establish peace and stability," the ministry said in a written statement.

It added that this escalation "once again demonstrates that Israel has no intention of achieving a lasting peace."

Ankara reiterated its call for "an immediate ceasefire, the cessation of operations in various parts of Gaza, and the unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid."

It also urged the international community to take "effective and determined steps against Israel" in line with their legal and humanitarian obligations.

"Establishing regional peace and security requires the international community to act without delay," the ministry stressed.

The Israeli army announced that it had launched ground assaults in Gaza aimed at expanding and making the occupation permanent as part of a new offensive plan approved by the security cabinet on May 4.

'At least 153 Palestinians killed' 

At least 153 Palestinians were killed in intensified Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, a Health Ministry official said Sunday.

“Relentless Israeli strikes claimed the lives of 153 people across the enclave,” Munir al-Bursh, the director-general of Gaza's Health Ministry, told state-run Anadolu Agency.

He said Israeli warplanes stepped up airstrikes across Gaza since early Sunday.

“The Israeli army is practicing the most brutal forms of ethnic cleansing and genocide" against Palestinian civilians, he added.

A medical source said that at least 140 people were killed in Israeli bombardment since early morning, while scores were injured, including women and children.

The source said the latest fatalities occurred in Gaza City when Israeli forces shelled a group of civilians in the Safatawi neighborhood, killing eight people.

The rising death toll came as Israeli drones shelled the Indonesian Hospital in Jabalia in northern Gaza.

“The (Israeli) occupation is besieging the hospital with drones and shooting at anyone who moves," hospital director Marwan Sultan said in a statement.

He said one patient was injured by Israeli fire in the hospital’s vicinity.

Al-Bursh further told Anadolu that Israeli forces opened fire near the hospital, injuring several patients inside the facility.

He said the hospital, which houses patients and medical staff, is now surrounded by Israeli tanks and bulldozers amid “extremely dire humanitarian conditions.”

He called for immediate international intervention to protect healthcare workers, patients, and the wounded inside the hospital.

Separately, Israeli drones struck 10 houses around the Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia, causing material damage to the hospital’s critical facilities, the hospital director, Mohammed Salha, told Anadolu.

He said the hospital has not received any medical supplies for over 80 days. 

“No fuel shipment has been allowed to the hospital for more than 35 days now,” he added.

The Gaza Civil Defense, meanwhile, warned that its vehicles will stop within 72 hours due to the lack of fuel.

“Our teams will not be able to perform their humanitarian missions due to fuel shortages and scarcity of resources,” it said in a statement.

The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 53,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.​​​​​​​

Source: HDN