Taiwo Jimoh 
Turkey and Qatar have called on Israel and Palestinia to act with restraint as the crisis is escalating into a full blown war. Al Jazeera Television had quoted a medical sources in Gaza, claiming that at least one thousand hundred lives have been lost from Palestinia side through the air attacks launched after a Hamas offensive against Israel that killed at least 40 citizens of Israelis.
The group running the besieged enclave said its surprise, large scale operation was in response to the desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence.
“We call on the parties to act with restraint in light of the events in Israel and to stay away from impulsive steps that will escalate tensions,” Erdogan said at the Justice and Development (AK) Party’s 4th extraordinary congress in the capital Ankara. Turkiye will continue to oppose any attempt against the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Erdogan added.
His remarks came after Palestinian resistance group in the Gaza Strip, Hamas fired an intense barrage of rockets early Saturday toward Israel. Qatar’s foreign ministry issued a similar statement saying that Israel alone was responsible for the ongoing escalation of violence with the Palestinian people.
It said Qatar calls on both sides to exercise utmost restraint and calls on the international community to prevent Israel from using these events as an excuse to launch a disproportionate war against Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Al Jazeera’s Jamileh Abu Zanoona, reporting from Gaza, said the territory’s Shujayea neighbourhood was targeted by heavy bombardment on Monday. A fourth mosque was destroyed in an overnight Israeli air raid on the Yarmouk neighbourhood in Gaza, forcing thousands more people to evacuate their homes.
“Dozens of homes were destroyed and are inhabitable,” Abu Zanoona, said. Israel’s chief military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, told reporters that Israel has taken “control” of its communities following the mass incursion of Hamas fighters. Hagari said there had been some isolated incidents on Monday morning, but that “at this stage, there is no fighting in the communities”.
He added that “there might still be terrorists in the region”. It was gathered that thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters held a solidarity rally in many America States, including New York, Atlanta, Chicago, among others, where they all expressed support for Hamas for protecting the sanctity of Aqsa and protecting the defenseless Palestinians In Atlanta, hundreds of Palestinian supporters demonstrated at the Israeli consulate on Sunday afternoon, chanting slogans in support of Hamas and calling for an end to US’ aid to Israel.
“We’re here because we think everyone in the United States is funding Israeli apartheid,” said Natalie Villasana, a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. She said U.S. military aid would be better spent on problems in the United States, although demonstrators also argued that Hamas’ actions were justified by Israeli aggression.
In Chicago, Priscilla Reed was among hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators who rallied outside the Israeli consulate. Many waved Palestinian flags or wore keffiyeh, the black and white checkered scarfs that have come to symbolize Palestinian solidarity. Their chants, in both English and Arabic, included, “Netanyahu you will see, Palestine will be free!” Reed, a retired teacher, said the attacks by Hamas were in response to Israel’s “systemic daily violence against Palestinians.
