Israeli government

In a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on April 26 at Vahdettin Mansion in Istanbul, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte emphasized the importance of Türkiye and its leadership in NATO's southern wing.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Türkiye has severed and is further cutting off commercial relations with Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

A delegation from mediator Egypt is travelling to Israel on Friday, a source close to the Israeli government told AFP, in what local media said is a bid to reignite stalled hostage-release negotiations.

Palestinians mourned people killed in Israeli bombardment of Rafah, the crowded southern Gaza city where Israel says it is advancing plans for a ground invasion.

Global concern has mounted over the looming operation against Hamas militants in Rafah, where much of Gaza's population has sought refuge from more than six months of war.

The United Nations has called for "a clear, transparent and credible investigation" of mass graves uncovered at two major hospitals in war-torn Gaza that were raided by Israeli troops.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli has criticized Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz over his statement against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and recalled that it was the Israeli army who killed 35,000 Palestinian civilians.

Equities retreated on April 15 after Iran ramped up Middle East tensions by launching a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel over the weekend, fuelling fears of a wider conflict in the volatile region.

However, analysts said there was hope among traders that the crisis could be contained.

That sliver of optimism helped drag oil prices lower.

Israel's authorities requested the acceleration of procedures for the implementation of the Great Sea Interconnector project (Greece-Cyprus-Israel), in the section of the Cyprus-Israel power linkup.

The director general of the Energy Ministry, representing the government of Israel, stated that this is an important priority of the Israeli government to advance the project.

U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a stark ultimatum to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: safeguard Palestinian civilians and foreign aid workers in Gaza or face potential repercussions from Washington, Reuters reported.

Türkiye has slammed Israeli government members who have targeted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over the continued attacks by the Israeli security forces in Gaza.

"Türkiye will continue to speak the truth and bring the indescribable persecution of the Palestinian people to the global agenda," read a statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on March 22.