Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with a Hamas delegation, which included Muhammad Darwish, head of the Shura Council, Erdogan’s office said in a statement.
The meeting was attended by key Turkish officials, including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Intelligence Organization Chief Ibrahim Kalin, Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, Senior Advisor for Foreign Policy and Security Akif Cagatay Kilic, and Presidential Chief of Staff Hasan Dogan, said the statement.
Erdogan told the delegation in the meeting Hamas’s “471-day struggle in Gaza reaffirmed the spirit of resistance will endure,” Xinhua news agency reported quoting the semi-official Anadolu Agency.
Turkiye will continue to “expose realities in Gaza,” Erdogan reportedly said, expressing hope for the successful completion of the Gaza ceasefire.
Erdogan has often expressed Turkiye’s strong stance on the Palestinian issue and has maintained communication with both Hamas and international actors regarding the conflict.
A three-phase ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas took effect on January 19, initiating six weeks of calm and raising hopes for an end to 15 months of Israeli assaults on Gaza that devastated the enclave and for the release of dozens of hostages held there.
On Saturday, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced the completion of the second phase of a prisoner-hostage exchange between Hamas and Israel, implemented under the initial terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Earlier in the day, Israel has received a list of hostages expected to be released from Hamas captivity in Gaza on Thursday, including three Israeli and five Thai nationals, Israeli sources said.
The list was delivered to mediators by the Palestinian armed group ahead of the expected release of a third batch of hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Earlier Gaza saw the second hostage swap as Hamas freed four female Israeli soldiers in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners, a part of a six-week ceasefire starting January 19.
(IANS)
