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Palestinian firefighters try to extinguish a blaze in branch of the Islamic National Bank after a airstrike by Israel, in Gaza City, on Nov. 20, 2012.(Xinhua/Yasser Qudih)
The U.S. government said on Tuesday that Turkey's criticism about Israel's recent airstrikes on Gaza was "extremely harsh" and unhelpful.
"Let me just say that some of the extremely harsh rhetoric coming from Turkey we do not consider helpful at all," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland at a regular briefing.
"Of course, we don't agree with some of these very difficult statements that have been coming there, and we've made those views to the Turks," she told reporters.
Nuland's remarks came after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier in the day called the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza terrorism and an attempt of ethnic cleansing. The Israelis have said that their military operation was self-defense in response to rocket attacks launched from Gaza into Israeli territories.
During the briefing, Nuland declined to provide details of the communication between the State Department and the Turkish government regarding the issue.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is now in the Middle East for talks with regional leaders, in a bid to find ways to calm the violence in Gaza.
A Palestinian source and some Israeli media said that a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza may take effect on Tuesday evening.
So far, nearly a week of violence between the two sides has reportedly claimed more than 130 lives, including many civilians.
