Italy's foreign minister Antonio Tajani has cautioned against "aggressive rhetoric" amid the 19-day-old war between Israel and Hamas that began after the Islamist Palestinian group's deadly 7 October attack.
"We shouldn't make the mistake of stepping up aggressive rhetoric," Tajani told MPs during parliamentary question time on Wednesday.
Italy has asked Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Turkey and other countries in the region "to play a stabilising and mediation role," Tajani noted.
"Some countries keep a low profile while others heat up the debate," he said.
Tajani's remarks appeared to reference Turkey's president, Tayyip Ergdogan, who on Wednesday said that Hamas militants were not terrorists but "mujahideen" fighting to free Palestinian lands.
"Hamas is not a terrorist organisation, it is a liberation group, 'mujahideen' waging a battle to protect its lands and people," Ergdogan told lawmakers from his ruling AK Party.
Unlike many NATO members, Turkey does not consider Hamas a terrorist organisation and hosts some of its members.
In his remarks, Erdogan slammed Israel's ongoing bombing campaign and nations which back it, calling them "the perpetrators of the massacre and the destruction taking place in Gaza".
"Israel's attacks on Gaza amount to murder and mental illness - also for those supporting them," Erdogan underlined.
