Erdogan says US has ‘historic responsibility’ to ensure Gaza ceasefire

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the US has a “historic responsibility” to ensure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, warning of the “negative regional and global consequences” of the conflict.

The Turkish leader spoke on the phone with US President Joe Biden today in their first talks since October 7, when Palestinian terror group Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel sparked the war, now in its third month.

On October 7, thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed the border from Gaza into Israel and killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took 240 hostages.

Israel launched a military offensive it says is aimed at destroying Hamas’s infrastructure, and has vowed to eliminate the entire terror group, which rules the Strip. It says it is targeting all areas where Hamas operates, while seeking to minimize civilian casualties.

“President Erdogan stated that the intensification and prolongation of Israeli attacks could have negative regional and global consequences,” the Turkish Presidency said in a statement after the phone call.

“Withdrawal of the United States’ unconditional support for Israel can guarantee a rapid ceasefire,” the statement added.

Erdogan has launched scathing broadsides on Israel since Hamas’s atrocities sparked the war. He has referred to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “the butcher of Gaza” and branded Israel a “terror state.”

During the phone call, Erdogan asserted that “the United States has a historic responsibility to ensure a permanent ceasefire in the region as soon as possible.”

Israel has vowed to keep fighting to dismantle Hamas, despite international pressure.