ISTANBUL, October 20. /TASS/. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has called on the international community to support initiatives for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, emphasizing that Israel needs to immediately stop "genocidal actions" against civilians.

"I call on all countries and international organizations to sincerely support the initiatives for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. I reiterate our call on Israel not to scale up the attacks targeting civilians and to immediately halt the actions reaching the scale of genocide," the Turkish president said in a statement released by his office.

According to Erdogan, the Middle East region should be saved as soon as possible from "the insanity encouraged by Western countries, with the Western media vying to legitimize it."

"We believe that stability will be ensured in our region through newly established mechanisms that guarantee security for Muslims, Jews and Christians - all those who live on these lands. Turkey will contribute to preventing further bloodshed and more humanitarian tragedies, as well as to finding a solution for Palestine before the clashes reach the point of no return," the Turkish leader’s statement said.