Istanbul, MINA – Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with members of Hamas’ Political Bureau in Istanbul on Saturday, focusing on the status of the ceasefire in Gaza and the ongoing humanitarian needs in the Palestinian territories, Anadolu Agency reported.
Since the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement began on October 10, Hamas has released 20 living Israeli captives and handed over the bodies of 19 of the 28 deceased captives, most of whom were Israeli citizens. However, Israel claimed that one of the recovered bodies did not match the names on its list of captives.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, Israel has killed 211 Palestinians and injured 597 others since the ceasefire began.
Israel has tied the second phase of ceasefire negotiations to the return of all hostage remains. Hamas stated that the process would take time due to the extensive destruction in Gaza.
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The first stage of the agreement included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. It also outlined plans for Gaza’s reconstruction and the formation of a new administrative mechanism excluding Hamas.
Israel has killed more than 68,500 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,600 others in its assaults on Gaza since October 2023.[]
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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