Egypt rejects Erdogan's accusations

Egypt's foreign minister rejected the accusations of Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying Turkey was conspiring with Hamas to undermine Cairo's efforts to reach a ceasefire between the Palestinian group and Israel in Gaza, Egypt's state news agency reported, according to Reuters.

Sameh Shukri made the accusation against Turkey and Hamas in a briefing with local newspaper editors, the state news agency MENA reported.

Erdogan criticized Egypt and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Friday, calling him a despot because of Egypt’s position regarding the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, Egypt Independent reported on Friday.

He accused the North African country of conniving with Israel to exclude Hamas from a peace deal in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday ordered the regime's military to begin a ground offensive in Gaza.

Egypt had proposed a permanent ceasefire plan on Tuesday, but Hamas, saying its terms had been ignored, rejected it. Hamas wants Israel and Egypt to lift border restrictions that have deepened economic hardship among Gaza's 1.8 million populace and caused a cash crunch in the movement, which has been unable to pay its employees for months.