President Erdogan Says Turkey Will Increase Diplomatic Efforts To Restore Gaza's Armistice

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Source: Presidency of The Republic of Turkey)

JAKARTA - Turkey will step up diplomatic efforts to restore a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Palestine and stop killing innocent people there, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

"Turkey supports the people of Gaza and our Palestinian brothers and sisters. We will continue to step up our diplomatic efforts to stop the massacre and restore peace and ceasefire," President Erdogan said in comments delivered at a breaking of the fast with National Defense University students.

Earlier, Israeli airstrikes that hit Gaza on Tuesday killed more than 400 people, Palestinian health authorities said, in an attack that ended weeks of calm after talks to secure a permanent ceasefire stalled.

Airstrikes hit homes and tent camps from north to south of the Gaza Strip and Israeli tanks opened fire on the border lines to the east and south of the enclave.

The attack was much broader on the scale than the usual drone strike Israel said had recently carried out against militant suspects, and followed weeks-long failed attempts to approve an extension of the ceasefire agreed on January 19.

Gaza's medical sources said most of the victims of Israeli attacks were children and women, being taken to hospitals in the Gaza Strip since dawn on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, 660 others were injured in a series of airstrikes and fire belts carried out by Israeli aircraft. Some of the victims are still buried by the rubble.

Israel continued their aggression in the Gaza Strip at dawn, after more than two months of pause, launching a series of intensive airstrikes and belts in several areas of the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office confirmed the resumption of the war in the Gaza Strip, and its coverage will be gradually expanded in the coming hours.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had told the military to take "hard action" against Hamas in response to the group's refusal to release the remaining hostages and because of their rejection of the ceasefire proposal.

Hamas itself is estimated to still have 59 of the approximately 250 hostages arrested in its offensive on October 7, 2023 in Israel, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire and endangering mediatorial efforts to secure a permanent ceasefire.