Turkish school students stood for a minute of silence at 11:00 a.m. (0900 GMT) in accordance with a direction issued by Education Minister Huseyin Celik. "This show of respect damns not only the cruelty in the Palestine, but also shows solidarity with the Palestinian people," the directive said.

More than 900 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, were killed in Gaza in the 18-day-old Israeli offensive against Hamas, according to medics.

The Turkish government has harshly slammed the Israeli operations in Gaza. Earlier the Istanbul municipality cancelled New Year celebrations in Taksim Square amid ongoing protests against Israel.