UPDATE – Hamas hails ‘distinguished’ relations with Türkiye, diplomatic, relief support to Gaza

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Mohammed Yusuf

ISTANBUL (AA) – A senior Hamas official has hailed his group’s relations with Türkiye and Turkish diplomatic and relief support for the besieged Gaza Strip amid a deadly Israeli offensive on the Palestinian enclave.

“We appreciate Türkiye’s diplomatic and relief efforts and call for its development as we are facing a Western coalition targeting Gaza,” Sami Abu Zuhri told Anadolu on Monday.

He said Gaza is facing a “fierce” Israeli war in which Tel Aviv is using all types of weapons.

"Türkiye can lead an Islamic coalition to ensure halting the war [on Gaza],” he added.

“Türkiye is a developed and pioneering country in the region and can do a lot,” the Hamas leader said.

Abu Zuhri termed as “distinguished” the Turkish relief aid to the Palestinians in Gaza.

“There is an official Turkish willingness to increase the quantities of aid and there is coordination with the Turkish brothers in this regard,” he added.

The Hamas leader praised the Turkish position, which backs the Palestinian legitimate right to resistance.

“This position contributes to blocking any US and Western attempts to link Hamas with terrorism,” he said. “This position is important and has served the group and the Palestinian people greatly."

Last October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Hamas is not a terrorist organization, but rather a “liberation movement” fighting to defend Palestinian land.

Regarding Hamas’ call for Türkiye to be among the guarantor states to any cease-fire agreement with Israel, Abu Zuhri said stressed that "the [Israeli] occupation doesn't abide by agreements."

"For that reason, it is necessary to have parties that can guarantee the implementation of the agreement," he added.

A new round of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel started in Egypt on Sunday to reach a cease-fire in Gaza.

Abu Zuhri said Hamas has showed flexibility during the Cairo talks.

“The Israeli occupation does not respond to any demands raised by the resistance or our people, especially halting the war on Gaza,” he said.

“The occupation insists on limiting the talks to the exchange of prisoners and allowing a very limited return of some displaced Gazans to the north…This cannot lead to a successful agreement,” Abu Zuhri added.

Hamas, which is believed to be holding more than 130 Israeli hostages, demands an end to Israel’s ongoing onslaught on Gaza in return for any hostage deal with Tel Aviv.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack early last October by Hamas which killed around 1,200 people.

More than 33,200 Palestinians have since been killed and almost 76,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which recently asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar