Turkey’s Erdogan says Hamas is a ‘liberation’ not a ‘terrorist’ group
An Israeli land incursion into Gaza will complicate efforts to get hostages home. Qatar spokesman
Jordan’s Queen Rania criticizes silence on Gaza amid ongoing Israeli strikes
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Palestinian militant group Hamas is not a terrorist organization but a liberation group waging a battle to protect its land.
In a speech to his party’s lawmakers in parliament, Erdogan said Israel had taken advantage of Turkey’s good intentions and that he will not go to Israel as previously planned.
He also urged an immediate ceasefire between Israeli and Palestinian forces and said Muslim countries must act together for lasting peace, calling on world powers to pressure Israel to halt attacks.
Erdogan added that the Rafah border gate must be kept open for humanitarian aid and that prisoner exchanges should be concluded urgently.
Palestinian militant group Hamas took more than 200 hostages during its October 7 rampage in southern Israel.
Qatar’s main priority is to safely get hostages back home which requires they don’t get harmed in crossfire, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said.
“Qatar has focused its mediation efforts on the release of hostages, which is separate from broader discussions on de-escalation,” he added.
“When October 7 happened, the world immediately and unequivocally stood by Israel and its right to defend itself and condemned the attacks that happened, but what we are seeing in the last couple of weeks, we are seeing silence in the world,” she said in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday.
“Countries have stopped expressing concern or acknowledging the casualties but always with the preface of declaration of support for Israel.”
The queen said people in the Middle East and Jordan are shocked by the world’s reaction to the mounting death toll in the Gaza Strip.
As of Tuesday alone, more than 700 Palestinians were killed, according to the health ministry’s statement on social media.