Washington is working "very aggressively" to dramatically increase aid reaching stranded civilians in Gaza, said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, AFP reports.
The top US diplomat held one-on-one talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan aimed at calming anger at both Israel and the West of one of Washington's most strategic but difficult allies. The talks lasted more than two hours.
Turkey, a NATO member, has criticised the way Israel is conducting its month-long offensive against Hamas militants.
Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse hundreds of protesters who came out to protest outside a U.S. air base in southeastern Turkey hours before Blinken's arrival.
Hundreds of others gathered outside the Turkish Foreign Ministry during his visit.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled through Turkey's remote northeast himself in an apparent attempt to "ignore" Washington's top diplomat.
Blinken told reporters after the meeting that Washington was aware of the "deep concern" in Turkey "about the horrific casualties" in Gaza.
"As I said, we are working very aggressively to provide more humanitarian assistance in Gaza, and we have very concrete ways of doing that," Blinken said before boarding a plane for Japan.
"I think in the coming days we will see that aid can be expanded in a significant way," he added, without providing details.
A Turkish diplomatic source said Fidan had urged Blinken for "an immediate ceasefire in Gaza."
"Fidan also pointed out to his US counterpart Blinken that bombing civilian targets and destroying Gaza's infrastructure is unacceptable," the Turkish source said.
Blinken's talks with Fidan would have been riddled with problems even before Israel launched a relentless bombing campaign and an expanding ground campaign aimed at liquidating Hamas.
The Hamas-run health ministry said nearly 10,000 people - mostly civilians - had been killed in the more than four weeks of the Gaza war.
The war threatens to have wide repercussions for Washington's relations with Turkey.
Ankara has a proactive foreign policy and stakes in Middle East conflicts that sometimes do not match those of Washington or other NATO allies.
Washington is currently eager to see the Turkish parliament finally ratify Sweden's stalled bid to join the U.S.-led NATO defense organization.
The United States is also tightening sanctions on Turkish individuals and companies believed to be helping Russia circumvent sanctions and import goods to use in its war against Ukraine.
Ankara is upset that the US Congress is withholding approval of a deal backed by President Joe Biden to upgrade the Turkish air force with dozens of US F-16 fighter jets.
Turkey also has long-standing reservations about U.S. support for Kurdish forces in Syria, which have led the fight against jihadists from the Islamic State group but are seen by Ankara as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Ankara has stepped up air strikes against armed Kurdish groups in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for an October attack in the Turkish capital claimed by the PKK.
Blinken called their talks in Ankara "very good, long and productive".
However, he provided few details on the unresolved dispute and underlined Turkey's "commitment" to admit Sweden to NATO.
Blinken faced a chorus of Arab calls to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during a whirlwind tour of the Middle East that included visits to Iraq and the West Bank on Sunday.
Israel said it could only accept a humanitarian pause to allow further aid deliveries once Hamas freed the hostages.
Blinken said only that "a pause could help" in securing more aid deliveries to Gaza.
Israel welcomed the deployment of a US nuclear submarine in the region as a 'deterrent and stabilising factor'
An Israeli army spokesman has welcomed the deployment of a US nuclear missile submarine to the region.
US Central Command, which covers the Middle East, announced that an Ohio-class nuclear missile submarine had arrived in the region - an unusual public announcement of the position of a nuclear submarine that was seen by many as a direct message to Iran.
"It's always good news to see the Americans moving more assets," military spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told the media. "We see this as something of a deterrent, a stabilizing factor in the region." / BGNES
