FM Fidan, UK counterpart discuss Gaza crisis
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks at a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Mİnister Badr Abdelatty in Cairo, Aug. 5, 2024. (AA Photo)


Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his British counterpart David Lammy discussed Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip, amid heightened regional tensions with the threat of retaliation from Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In a statement posted on X, Foreign Ministry spokesman Öncü Keçeli said Hakan Fidan had a telephone conversation with Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

The discussion covered recent developments in Gaza and rising tensions in the region, said Keçeli.

"Israel is the party opposing the cease-fire, highlighting the risk of the conflict spreading to a regional level," Fidan told Lammy, the spokesman said.

During the call, Fidan also stressed that "Israel’s aggression needs to be halted."

Earlier on Wednesday, Fidan hosted ambassadors of nations that are members of the Arab League. He was in Egypt on Monday, where he met with President Abdel Fettah el-Sissi and his counterpart Badr Abdelatty.

Türkiye is part of a Contact Group created by the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which pursue diplomatic efforts to resolve the Palestine-Israel conflict.

Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yılmaz and his Saudi Arabian counterpart also discussed the ongoing Israeli massacre in Gaza, said the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.

Yılmaz met with Waleed A. Elkhereiji on the margins of an extraordinary Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Executive Committee meeting in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, the ministry said on X.

"During the meeting, the ongoing Israeli massacre in Gaza and regional developments were discussed," it added.

Flouting a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.

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

Israel has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza since Oct. 7, and is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its military campaign.