The leader of the Palestinian Hamas, Ismaïl Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Turkey on Saturday, as announced by diplomatic sources on Sunday, without specifying the exact location of the meeting.
Ismaïl Haniyeh (L) and Hakan Fidan
The leader of the Palestinian Hamas, Ismaïl Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Turkey on Saturday, as announced by diplomatic sources on Sunday, without specifying the exact location of the meeting.
The discussions at the heart of the meeting centered around "the release of hostages" and "the establishment of a ceasefire as soon as possible," according to these sources.
During the meeting, various topics were discussed, including the urgent need to establish a ceasefire in Gaza, increasing humanitarian aid, securing the release of hostages, and finding a two-state solution for lasting peace, detailed the sources.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had offered his mediation between the Hamas, which he sees as a "liberation movement," and Israel, which he has repeatedly labeled as a "terrorist state."
However, most of the negotiations have been led by Qatar and Egypt up to this point.
Despite Ankara's strong support for the Palestinian cause, Turkish authorities discreetly requested that Hamas leaders present in Turkey leave the country following the unprecedented attack on Israeli soil on October 7, which resulted in 1,140 casualties, primarily civilians.
The mayor of Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city and a bastion of its secular opposition, joined President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP) on Wednesday, giving it the mayoralty of a city it has never won at the ballot box.
Israelis will on Wednesday mark three years since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a military assault that destroyed much of Gaza, where conditions remain dire despite a year-old ceasefire that is meant to halt the war for good.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to Ankara and Istanbul from October 21 to 23, his office said on Tuesday, in what will be the first dedicated bilateral visit to NATO ally Turkey by a Canadian leader.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.