Top diplomats of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Friday denounced the ongoing war in the Middle East, particularly between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas.

In a statement, foreign ministers of the 10-member regional bloc called for the immediate end of bloodshed in the region.

"We strongly condemn the acts of violence which have led to the deaths and injury of civilians, including ASEAN nationals", the ASEAN foreign ministers said.

"We urge for the immediate end of violence to avoid further human casualties and call for the full respect of international Humanitarian Law," it added.

Israel and the Palestinian Sunni-Islamic extremist Hamas are currently in the middle of an armed conflict following the surprise attack launched by the armed group in Israel last 7 October.

Hamas' attack in Israel left more than 1,400 dead, most of them were those who were massacred on the 7 October surprise attack.

Meanwhile, the widespread airstrikes of the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip left at least 3,478 dead.

ASEAN also called on "all parties to create safe, rapid and unimpeded passage of human corridors."

Last week, Israel imposed a 24-hour deadline for 1.1 million civilians to evacuate northern Gaza ahead of its ground offensive in the Palestinian territory.

Since then, millions of civilians, including foreign nationals scrambled to move from northern Gaza to southern Gaza in hopes of exiting the war-torn territory.

The bulk of civilians are swarming to the Rafah border in an attempt to enter Egypt, despite the restricted availability of food, water, and electricity.

ASEAN reaffirmed its support for a "negotiated two-state solution that allows both Israelis and Palestinians to live side-by-side in peace and security consistent with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions."

"This will be the only viable path to resolving the root cause of the conflict," it said.

The regional bloc also called on the "international community to support the peace process to ensure long-lasting peace and stability in the region."

"We have issued our respective national statements on the escalation of armed conflicts in the Middle East," it said.

On Wednesday, the Philippines, one of the founding members of the ASEAN, expressed its "profound sadness" over the bombing of a hospital in the Gaza Strip which reportedly killed at least 500 civilians.

Both Israel and Hamas denied that they were behind the attack and attributed the bombing of the civilian infrastructure to each other.

For its part, the Philippines said that all parties should "do their utmost to protect civilians in times of war and armed conflict."

"We support efforts of the United Nations to provide humanitarian relief in the conflict areas," it said.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, there are 135 Filipinos in the Hamas-controlled Gaza.