The head of Hamas' political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Turkey on Saturday, according to diplomatic sources on Sunday, without specifying the location of the meeting. The sources indicated that the discussions held by Haniyeh, who resides in Qatar, focused on "the release of hostages" held in the Gaza Strip since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7. The last conversations between Haniyeh and Fidan took place on October 16 during a phone call.
The sources noted that "during the meeting, issues such as establishing a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible, increasing humanitarian aid, releasing hostages, and the two-state solution for lasting peace were discussed." Since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has sought to mediate, but his efforts have been undermined by his firm stances, as he accused Israel of being a "terrorist state" and regarded Hamas as a group of "freedom fighters" rather than a "terrorist" organization, as classified by Israel, the United States, and the European Union. So far, Qatar and Egypt have been conducting talks.
