Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has begun a process of negotiations with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas to secure the release of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by the group, an official source reported this Wednesday night.
“They are negotiating to obtain the release of the hostages,” declared this source, quoted by the French news agency AFP, confirming information from the private Habertürk television.
Traditionally close to Qatar, Erdogan held talks this Wednesday with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, and the Algerian president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the official Anadolu agency reported.
On behalf of Turkey, Erdogan says he is willing to “do everything” in his power, including “mediation” and “fair arbitration”, to quickly eliminate the scenario of conflict in the region, declared the Turkish head of state , cited by Anadolu. .
Despite a rapprochement that began several months ago with Israel, Erdodan accused this country on Wednesday of “not behaving like a State” in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been launching numerous attacks and threatening a ground operation.
According to the Israeli government, nearly 150 people were kidnapped in Israel by Hamas, which threatened on Monday to execute the hostages in retaliation for the increasing number of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Hamas, in power in the Gaza Strip since 2007, launched a surprise attack on Israeli territory on October 7, under the name of operation “Al-Aqsa Storm”, with the launch of thousands of rockets and the incursion of rebels. armed by land. sea and air.
In response, Israel bombed several Hamas facilities in that Palestinian territory from the air, in an operation it called “Iron Swords.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that his country is “at war” with Hamas, which, he recalled, was internationally classified as a terrorist movement not only by Israel but also by the United States and the European Union (EU), among others. state.
Israel, which has imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip and has cut off the supply of water, fuel and electricity, has so far confirmed more than 1,200 deaths and 3,700 injuries since the start of the Hamas offensive, supported by Hezbollah. Lebanese and the Palestinian branch of Islamic Jihad.
On the Palestinian side, the local Ministry of Health confirmed today that, in Gaza, Israeli retaliation attacks caused at least 1,100 deaths and 5,339 injuries.
Source: TSF
