Baku, TurkicWorld:
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the head of Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Ibrahim Kalın condoled with Hamas's political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, who lost three of his sons and some of his grandchildren while visiting relatives at a refugee camp in Gaza on the first day of Ramadan Bayram, also known as Eid al-Fitr, on Wednesday, TurkicWorld reports citing Daily Sabah.
In his phone call with Haniyeh, MIT chief Kalın extended his condolences and also discussed the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, Israel’s lawless attacks, cease-fire and hostage release discussions, diplomatic sources said.
Kalın told Haniyeh that Türkiye will continue to stand with Palestine, sources added.
An Israeli airstrike targeted a car carrying members of the Haniyeh family in the Al-Shati refugee camp as they were giving good wishes to the camp's residents for the Muslim holiday, eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency (AA).
Medical sources told AA that the airstrike resulted in the deaths of three of Haniyeh's sons – Hazem, Amir, and Mohammed – as well as several of their own children, in addition to injuring others.
Israel has waged a military offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing nearly 33,500 people, since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas, which killed some 1,200. It has also imposed a crippling blockade on the seaside enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.
The war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while much of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has urged Israel to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.
Türkiye recently announced a series of restrictions on exports to Israel and said they would continue until Tel Aviv lets humanitarian aid in the blockaded enclave.
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.
