Ankara - Official New Year's Eve celebrations in Istanbul have been cancelled out of respect for Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza, the NTV television station reported.

Istanbul Municipality was planning on organizing concerts and entertainment in the Taksim district of downtown Istanbul but these have been cancelled due to the attacks in Gaza.

Turkey has condemned the attacks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the weekend describing the air strikes as "primarily a strike against peace." (dpa)