Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday this his government’s move to halt trade with Israel is aimed at achieving a ceasefire in Gaza.

“We have taken some measures to force Israel to agree to a ceasefire and increase the amount of humanitarian aid to enter” Gaza, Erdogan told businessmen in Istanbul.

The annual trade between the two countries is worth about $7bn.

“We will oversee the consequences of this step we have taken in coordination and consultation with our business world.”

The Turkish leader later told reporters: “Up to now, Israel has killed 40,000 to 45,000 Palestinians without mercy. As Muslims, we could not stand by and watch.”

Erdogan said Turkey knows “we did the right thing”.

Erdogan's words came after the UN humanitarian office said that an Israeli military offensive in Rafah would put the lives of hundreds of thousands of Gazans at risk.

Turkey stopped all exports and imports to and from Israel as of Thursday, the Turkish trade ministry said, citing "worsening humanitarian tragedy" in the Palestinian Territories.

Meanwhile, two Palestinian prisoner associations said on Thursday that a senior Palestinian doctor, Adnan Al-Bursh, died in an Israeli prison after more than four months of detention. They blamed Israel for his death.