Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, have appealed for greater international efforts to stop the Middle East conflict from escalating, AFP reports.

The joint appeal came as the emir, whose country has been a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, made a brief visit to Ankara to discuss the crisis after last week’s killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

“President Erdogan said Israel is trying to increase tension in the region with its attacks on Palestinian territory and on Lebanon, and that the international community had to take effective measures to end the Israeli aggression, which has intensified in recent days,” said a statement released by Erdogan’s office.

Erdogan’s statement added that with the killing of the Hamas leader, “Israel has once more demonstrated it has no intention of [obtaining] a ceasefire.”