Gaza aid delivery focus of talks in Turkiye
ISTANBUL: Turkiye's intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met with Hamas leaders on Saturday for talks about how to deliver aid to war-ravaged Gaza where Israel resumed its military offensive last month.
Kalin held talks with Mohammed Darwish, head of the political council of Hamas, which rules Gaza, and his delegation, Turkiye's Anadolu state news agency reported, without saying where the meeting took place. Media reports said it was in Turkiye.
As well as discussing ways to deliver humanitarian aid, they also spoke of initiatives to secure a permanent ceasefire along with ways to counter Israeli plans to displace Gaza's population forcibly, Anadolu said, citing security sources.
Kalin reassured them of Turkiye's ongoing support and said Ankara would firmly oppose any new efforts to occupy or annex further Palestinian territory.
After 18 months of devastating war and an Israeli aid blockade since March 2, the UN has said Gaza is facing its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began in October 2023, triggered by Hamas' attack on Israel.
Hamas on Thursday accused Israel of using 'starvation as a weapon' by blocking aid supplies.
But Israel has vowed to keep blocking humanitarian aid, saying it is the only way to force Hamas to release the 58 hostages still held there.
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