Marzouki Calls Qatar's Emir To Discuss Gaza

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani early on Friday discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip in a phone conversation with Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki.



Sheikh Tamim received a phone call from the Tunisian President in which the two leaders discussed relations between their two countries as well as some international and regional issues, including the situation in the Gaza Strip, the official Qatari news agency said.



The phone conversation comes only one day after the Tunisian President called for holding an emergency Arab summit to "put an end to Israel's aggression on the Gaza Strip".



"Official Tunisia calls for holding an emergency Arab summit to discuss the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and also put an end to the aggression," Marzouki was "ed by a Tunisian presidency statement as saying in calling for holding the summit.



Since July 7, Israel has pummeled the Gaza Strip – by air, land and sea – with the ostensible aim of halting Palestinian rocket fire.



Last week, Israel stepped up its offensive to include ground operations, sending thousands of troops into the embattled coastal enclave.



Israel's offensive has left at least 797 Palestinians dead, mostly civilians, since it began more than two weeks ago,.



Israel's ongoing operation "Protective Edge" is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely-populated Gaza Strip, which is home to some 1.8 million Palestinians, within the last six years.



In 2008/9, over 1500 Palestinians – the vast majority of them civilians – were killed in Israel's three-week-long operation "Cast Lead."



By Ahmed al-Masri



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Doha