Turkish president, Qatari emir discuss regional tension over phone

ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Monday discussed the recent tensions between Israel and Palestine, which on Saturday escalated into a deadly conflict.

Erdogan and Al Thani exchanged views on the increasing conflict in the region between Israel and Palestine, Türkiye's Communications Directorate said in a statement.

Gaza-based resistance group Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel early Saturday, firing a barrage of rockets. It said the surprise attack was in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and growing settler violence.

In retaliation, the Israeli army launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza has risen to 560, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said on Monday amid ongoing fighting. It also said the number of injured surged to 2,900.

The Interior Ministry in Gaza said the Israeli army has "intensified its aggression" on Gaza with hundreds of raids.

The Israeli army said it had struck over 500 targets in overnight raids on Gaza, which they claimed were targets belonging to the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups.

At least 800 Israelis have been killed and over 2,616 others wounded in the fighting, according to local media.