Istanbul:
A leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in Istanbul on Friday evening for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the death toll in Gaza surpassed 34,000.
A statement from Hamas on Friday said Erdogan and Haniyeh would discuss the conflict in Gaza, adding that the head of the group's political bureau was accompanied by a delegation.
Tensions are high in the Middle East following the reported Israeli attack on Iran and Gaza, in preparation for a new Israeli offensive.
Erdogan insisted on Wednesday that he would “continue to defend the Palestinian struggle and remain the voice of the oppressed Palestinian people.”
But speaking to reporters on Friday, he declined to be drawn on the details of the meeting.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was in Qatar on Wednesday and said he spent three hours with Haniyeh and his aides for “a broad exchange of views, in particular on the ceasefire negotiations”.
Qatar, a mediator between Israel and Hamas, acknowledged Wednesday that negotiations to end hostilities in Gaza and free the hostages were “stalled.”
Fidan said he spoke with Haniyeh, who lives in Qatar, about how Hamas – designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union – “must clearly express its expectations, especially about a two-state solution.”
Erdogan's last meeting with Haniyeh was in July 2023, when Erdogan received him and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas at the presidential palace in Ankara. Haniyeh last met Fidan in Turkey on January 2.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Militants also took about 250 hostages. Israel says 129 people are believed to be held in Gaza, including 34 suspected dead.
Israel's military retaliation campaign has killed at least 34,012 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
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