Ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi chanted, during a trial session on Sunday, in support of the embattled Gaza Strip where at least 166 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since Monday.

Morsi appeared in court for a session in his trial on charges of staging a mass jailbreak during Egypt's January 2011 uprising that led to the ouster of autocratic president Hosni Mubarak.

As he stepped into the courtroom, the ousted elected president started shouting in solidarity with Gaza, promoting other defendants to follow suit.
Morsi, Egypt's freely elected president, was ousted by the military last summer following opposition protests.

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas is considered an ideological offshoot of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

Israel has launched a military offensive-dubbed "Operation Protective Edge"-against the Gaza Strip with the stated aim of ending rocket fire from the enclave.

At least 166 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since late Monday.