President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has launched a negotiation process with Palestinian resistance group Hamas for the release of Israeli hostages taken during the recent operation, sources said Wednesday.
A woman and child hostage – thought to be mother and son – were released on Wednesday, according to footage shared online.
Erdoğan has been trying to speed up the de-escalation process by holding phone calls with world leaders, including Palestinian and Israeli presidents, the Russian president, the U.N. Secretary-General and others.
On Wednesday, he spoke with the Jordanian king, Saudi Arabia's crown prince and his Algerian counterpart.
An outspoken critic of Israel's human rights violations against Palestinians, Erdoğan said Israel was acting like a terrorist group rather than a state, by indiscriminately attacking civilians, humanitarian compounds, hospitals and more.
"Israel should not forget that if it acts more like a organization rather than a state, it'll finish by being treated as such," Erdoğan said, attacking the shameful methods of the Israeli army in the densely-populated Gaza Strip.
"Bombing civilian sites, killing civilians, blocking humanitarian aid and trying to present these as achievements are the acts of an organization and not a state," he said.
Türkiye usually uses the word "organization" when referring to terrorist groups like the PKK.
In a dramatic escalation of Middle East tensions, Israeli forces have launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip, responding to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.
The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood – a multipronged surprise attack – against Israel, including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into via land, sea and air, which Hamas said was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers' growing violence against Palestinians.
In response to Hamas' actions, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.
Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007, Daily Sabah reports.
