Turkey’s foreign ministry announced its unease over the Israeli launched ground operation in Gaza on Thursday.
The Israeli army launched a ground operation into the Gaza Strip Thursday evening, following ten days of relentless airstrikes on the Palestinian territory, and according to Palestinian Health Ministry official, resulting in the deaths of 246 Palestinians and injuries of 1,860 people.
"We condemn the Israel ground operation in Gaza, right after its inhuman air attacks," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced on his Twitter account on Friday.
Davutoglu said he talked to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and Turkey will call for an emergency meeting over Israeli military intervention to the UN Security Council, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the UN Commission on Human Rights.
He also spoke with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and the General Secretary of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Iyad Madani, to discuss the halting of the ground operation as soon as possible.
"We expect a call from all countries to ask for a stop to Israel's lawlessness," Davutoglu said.
The ground operation caused anxiety over other Turkish politicians too. Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek also strongly condemned Israeli ground operations in Gaza, and said it is unacceptable.
"It is time for everyone to say stop to this injustice, and a ceasefire should be enforced immediately," added Cicek.
During a speech broadcast live by state television, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Emrullah Isler said Israel plays with fire and it is headed for a fall.
"We see the international community has collapsed," Isler added referring to international organizations who have remained silent in the face of Israel's military operations.
Meanwhile, a group of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party MPs protested against Israel’s ground operation in front of Israeli Embassy in Ankara.
Israeli military planes have been pounding the Gaza Strip since July 7 with the stated aim of halting rocket fire from the Palestinian territory.
Gaza-based resistance factions, for their part, have continued to fire rockets at Israel – some of which have reached Tel Aviv – in response to the deadly airstrikes.
Israel's military operation, dubbed "Operation Protective Edge," is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the embattled Gaza Strip – home to some 1.8 million Palestinians – in the last six years.
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