US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken began difficult talks in Turkey on Monday in an attempt to calm the anger of Ankara, a major strategic ally of the United States, over the ongoing war on Gaza.

On Monday, Blinken began his talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara.

Blinken's visit to Turkey, the first since Israel launched the war on Gaza in response to the Hamas attack on October 7, comes as the anger of Turkey and its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with Israel and the West is mounting.

Police used tear gas and water cannons on Sunday to disperse hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators in front of the Incirlik military base, which houses American weapons and forces, before Blinken arrived in Ankara.

Erdogan, for his part, chose to visit a remote area in the northeast of the country on Monday, in a decision that appeared to be a boycott of Blinken.

Blinken's talks with his Turkish counterpart were expected to be difficult even before Israel launched continuous bombing and a massive ground campaign aimed at "eliminating" Hamas.

The Hamas Ministry of Health reported that at least 9,770 people were killed during more than four weeks of the ongoing war on Gaza.

At least 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, according to the authorities, since the attack, the majority of whom were civilians who died, especially on the first day of the movement’s attack, which also took 241 hostages, according to the army.

This war may have major repercussions on relations between Washington and Turkey, both members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and involved in Middle East conflicts.

"Crocodile Tears"

Washington is waiting for the Turkish Parliament to give the green light for Sweden to join NATO.

The United States has tightened sanctions on Turkish individuals and companies suspected of helping Russia circumvent sanctions and import equipment used in its war efforts against Ukraine.

Ankara is dissatisfied with the delay of the US Congress in approving an agreement supported by President Joe Biden that aims to modernize the Turkish Air Force with F-16 fighter jets.

Ankara has long had reservations about US support for Kurdish forces in Syria that have led the fight against ISIS jihadists, and which Ankara views as linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, banned in Turkey.

Ankara intensified its air strikes against Kurdish targets in Syria and Iraq in response to an attack in the Turkish capital in October, for which the Kurdistan Workers' Party claimed responsibility, during which two militants were killed.

Blinken's visit comes after his quick tour in the Middle East, which included the occupied West Bank, where he held talks on Sunday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The US Secretary of State is facing calls from Arab countries to support an immediate ceasefire.

Israel says it may accept a humanitarian truce to allow additional aid shipments in once Hamas frees the hostages.

Blinken offered his support for the Israeli position while trying to assure regional players that Washington is focused on alleviating human suffering.

Erdogan said on Sunday that it is Turkey's "duty", as a supporter of the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, to seek to stop the violence immediately.

On Sunday, Erdogan indicated that his country is “working behind the scenes” with its regional allies to try to ensure a continuous flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

But he cut off all contact with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and summoned Ankara's ambassador to Israel in protest against what is happening in Gaza.

Also, the Turkish President accused the West of double standards in the region. "Those who were shedding crocodile tears over the civilians killed in the war between Ukraine and Russia are today silently bearing witness to the killing of thousands of innocent children," he said last month.