Iran, Turkey call for meeting to avert spread of Israel-Hamas war

Turkey and Iran on Wednesday called for a regional conference aimed at averting the spread of the Israel-Hamas war.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian a day after Iran's top diplomat met Hamas leaders in Qatar.

Iran has warned that armed groups it supports in the region could attack Israel in light of its war on Hamas.

Fidan said Turkey was pushing for an immediate ceasefire because "it is not difficult to predict that this spiral of violence will grow" without a permanent solution to the war.

"We do not want the human tragedy in Gaza to turn into a war that affects the region's countries," Fidan said.

The Iranian foreign minister "shared with us that there are strong indications that other armed elements in the region may intervene in the conflict if conditions do not change", Fidan said.

"A ceasefire and peace have become more essential."

Amir-Abdollahian said a peace conference involving "Muslim and Arab" countries should be held "as soon as possible".

He also called on the Muslim world to boycott Israeli products because of the war.

Israel has been pounding the Gaza Strip since Hamas gunmen stormed across the border on October 7 and, killed more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli officials.

The bombing campaign has killed more than 8,796 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

© Agence France-Presse