Turkey has called on Israel to end the airstrikes on the Gaza Strip amid escalating violence that threatens to undermine the warming ties between the two countries.
The strikes were launched in response to the most sustained barrage of rockets from Lebanon and Gaza in 17 years. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, described the Israeli government's policy of violence as "unlawful and unethical" and called for an immediate end to it.
Turkey, which has long criticized Israel's policies toward the Palestinians, has sought to reset ties with Israel and the Arab world to bolster its economy.