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.
Israel said on Thursday it was preparing for the reopening of Gaza's Rafah crossing with Egypt to let Palestinians in and out, but set no date as it traded blame with Hamas over violations of a U.S.-mediated ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his government’s determination to secure the release of all remaining hostages held in Gaza, stating Thursday that "the fight is not over" for Israel, two years after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.
Turkey has put a former head of its disaster management agency in charge of its aid to Gaza, a Foreign Ministry source said, a sign it intends to ramp up its role as a guarantor of the new ceasefire after sitting out earlier rounds of diplomacy.
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