IANS | 16 Apr, 2024
Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has discussed further action
in Rafah with representatives of his ministry and the Israeli COGAT
authority which oversees contacts with the Palestinians and aid.
They
focused on the evacuation of civilians from Rafah, in the south of the
Gaza Strip and the expansion of food and medicine deliveries, according
to the government press office.
More than a million people have
fled to Rafah from attacks throughout the densely populated strip and
there are growing concerns that Israel's planned offensive in Rafah
could lead to mass civilian casualties.
Before Iran unleashed its
attack on Israel last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said he had set a date for an offensive in Rafah, though Gallant
contradicted this shortly afterwards.
Meanwhile, Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with the Emir of Qatar and called for
increased cooperation between Muslim countries in view of the war in
Gaza, his office said.
These countries must increase their efforts
to stop Israel's "brutal attacks" in the Gaza Strip and to hold the
country accountable for "crimes against humanity," according to a
statement from the presidential office.
Erdogan told Qatari Emir
Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani it was crucial to exert a restraining influence
on Israel and to act with common sense in order to prevent the spread
of tensions in the region.
Relations between Israel and Turkey
massively deteriorated after the start of the Gaza war following the
massacre by the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas in Israel in
October. Erdogan has harshly criticized Israel's military action in
Gaza, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing a
"massacre," charges Israel rejects.
The Turkish government
maintains links with Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. Unlike some
European countries and the US, Turkey does not classify Hamas as a
terrorist organization.
In the attack by Hamas and other
Palestinian militants on the Israeli border area on October 7, 2023,
more than 1,200 people were killed and around 200 people were abducted
to the Gaza Strip.
More than 33,000 people have been killed in
Gaza since the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023, according to health
officials in the Hamas-led region.
