Turkey condemns Israel's attack on Qatari Red Crescent building
An Israeli airstrike hits a building in Gaza City, May 17, 2021. (AP Photo)


The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli air raids on the Qatari Red Crescent building in the Gaza Strip in Palestine.

"We invite the international community to step up their efforts to force Israel to end the indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force and to comply with international law," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç said.

"We wish Allah's mercy on those who lost their lives and wish a speedy recovery to those injured, as a result of these heinous attacks, which are a clear violation of international humanitarian law."

The headquarters of the Qatari Red Crescent Society (QRCS) in Gaza were struck by Israeli warplanes Monday.

In a tweet, the QRCS said: "The Qatari Red Crescent was severely damaged this afternoon due to the shelling of a commercial building where it is located in Gaza city."

According to QRCS, the attack also killed two Palestinians, including a child, and injured 10 others.

The group said it will continue to "provide relief aid to the affected people in the Gaza Strip in cooperation with the Palestinian Red Crescent."

The Israeli army has launched incessant attacks on Gaza since May 10, killing at least 212 Palestinians, including 61 children and 35 women, and injuring 1,400 others, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In its recent indiscriminate attacks, Israel has also targeted the press and Turkish journalists, drawing condemnation from press institutions around the world.

The airstrikes on Gaza were preceded by days of tension and Israeli aggression in occupied East Jerusalem, where hundreds of Palestinians were assaulted by Israeli forces at Al-Aqsa Mosque and in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.