Iranian, Russian, Turkish presidents urge to end Israeli attacks on Gaza

Tehran, Oct 17: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has highlighted the necessity of making immediate efforts to put an end to Israeli attacks against Gaza in separate phone calls with his Russian and Turkish counterparts, according to statements from the Iranian president's office.

Speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Raisi on Monday blamed Israel's intensification and continuation of military operations in Gaza, which were "supported by Western states, especially the US".

"The major disaster that is occurring in the region is an outcome of the policies of the US and Israel's other Western supporters, which are doomed to failure," Raisi stressed.

For his part, Putin said the large-scale Israeli attacks against a densely-populated region, where more than two million defenseless people live, "are in no way justifiable and must be immediately stopped."

He warned that carrying out ground operations in Gaza would have very heavy human and military costs and consequences, stressing that the US sought to proceed with its desired approach toward the resolution of the Palestinian issue alone, but it has ended in failure.

In another phone talk with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Raisi warned of the possible expansion of the conflict, calling on the Muslim world to "make efforts to end Israel's brutal attacks against Gaza and lift the siege on the enclave".

Erdogan, for his part, said measures such as the US aircraft carrier's presence in the region and bombardment of airports in Syria's Aleppo and Damascus could expand the Israel-Hamas conflict to broader parts of the region, Xinhua news agency reported.

He noted that Turkey is trying to assist the people in Gaza, adding that the achievement of a cease-fire, ceasing attacks on Gaza, and lifting the city's siege are three important and fundamental priorities to control the escalation at this critical point.

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) launched a surprise attack on October 7, launching thousands of rockets and breaching land border with Israel, prompting extensive Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.

The ongoing conflict has caused heavy casualties in both Israel and Gaza.