Turkey on Friday has again declared it is deeply concerned with the onhgoing Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip while Israel has protested earlier remarks by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemning the action.

"The embargo imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip, in this context the closure of the border gates between Israel and the Gaza Strip and lastly the cutting off of fuel supplies is cause of great concern," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement.

"As a result of these measures, the conditions of the civilian population of Gaza, already living under the harshest circumstances, have further deteriorated, serious disruptions have occurred in the distribution of water and electricity, as well as in health services," the Ministry reported.

It said Turkey is convinced that embargoes and blockades "which further aggravate the life of the people in the Gaza Strip" merely serve the goals of extremist elements. The Foreigbn Ministry said Turkey calls for an immediate end to these practices.

The Foreign Ministry said "it is, of course, our expectation that the rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip to Israel and the military operations of Israel directed at Gaza come to a halt."

Prime Minister Erdogan irked the Israelis when he said no Israelis have been killed by Qassam missiles, while every Israel Defense Forces attack in the Gaza Strip kills dozens of Palestinians, Israeli daily Hazaretz reported.

Haaretz said senior Israeli Foreign Ministry officials Wednesday issued a protest to Turkey's ambassador to Israel, Namik Tan, and requested clarifications of Erdogan's remarks.

"Israel is very disappointed by Erdagan's statements in light of the friendly relations between the two countries. ... Israel expects a different response from a state that itself is fighting terror," a senior Foreign Ministry official told Tan, in conveying the official protest.

Erdogan was critical of Israel's closing the Gaza Strip border as well as Israeli military operations in the area.

"The Palestinian territories are like an open-air prison, they are under siege from Israel," he said in a televised speech to lawmakers Wednesday.

He blamed Israel for the situation in Gaza: "The people of Gaza are facing a humanitarian tragedy," he said. "We cannot accept a practice that amounts to punishing nearly 2 million innocent people due to some rocket attacks. ... When we ask [our Israeli colleagues] how many Israeli citizens died as a result of these rocket attacks, we do not get an answer."