Turkey's Erdogan says US sending aircraft carrier closer to Israel to commit massacre in Gaza

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday criticised the United States for moving a carrier strike group closer to Israel, saying that it would commit "serious massacres" in Gaza.

Following a surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel on Saturday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Sunday that the US will be moving a carrier strike group, which includes the USS Gerald R. Ford, closer to Israel.

"What will the aircraft carrier of the US do near Israel, why do they come? What will boats around and aircraft on it will do? They will hit Gaza and around, and take steps for serious massacres there," Erdogan said in a joint press conference with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in Ankara.

Erdogan has previously said that Turkey was ready to mediate between Israeli and Palestinian forces to ensure calm.

The conflict comes as Turkey, which has backed Palestinians in the past, hosted members of Hamas, and supported a two-state solution to the conflict, works to repair ties with Israel after years of animosity.

Earlier, Erdogan discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Tuesday, with the Kremlin saying the focus was on an immediate ceasefire and a resumption of talks.

The Turkish presidency, in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, said the two leaders discussed measures to prevent increasing tensions and initiatives to deliver humanitarian aid.

A Kremlin statement deplored the "catastrophic rise in the deaths among civilians". It said the conflict could only be resolved on the basis of a "two-state" plan, with the creation of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Turkish statement said Ankara would maintain its efforts to ensure calm in the region. The Kremlin said contacts between the two leaders would continue.