Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has begun a negotiation process with Hamas to secure the release of Israeli hostages kidnapped by the Islamist group, an official source told AFP late on Wednesday.

Recep Tayyip ErdoganPhoto: Adem ALTAN / AFP / Profimedia

“I am going to negotiate the release of the hostages on the orders of (President) Erdogan,” this source said, confirming a report by private TV station Habertürk.

Dozens of Israeli citizens and foreigners are being held hostage by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip after a sudden and bloody offensive launched by the Palestinian Islamist movement at dawn on Saturday.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said on Wednesday that Germany had asked Qatar, along with other Middle Eastern countries, to take an active part in efforts to free the hostages.

Turkey’s president, who has offered to mediate in restoring peace, is expanding talks with his counterparts in the Middle East.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is traditionally close to Qatar, on Wednesday evening spoke with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, and the President of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboun, the official Anadolu Agency reported.

On behalf of Turkey, “we are ready to do everything in our power,” including holding a “mediation” process and “honest arbitration” to quickly lead the region out of this conflict, the head of state said, Anadolu quoted him as saying.

Erdogan is trying to establish himself as a defender of the Palestinians

Turkey, which has supported the Palestinians in the past, has harbored members of Hamas and, before last Saturday’s attack, Hamas was trying to mend relations with Israel after years of enmity.

After several months of diplomatic rapprochement, on August 17, 2022, Israel and Turkey announced that they were fully resuming bilateral relations and that their ambassadors were returning to their posts in the two countries.

Relations between Turkey and Israel soured in 2010 after a brutal attack by Israeli forces on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was trying to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip.

As a result of the incident, 10 Turkish citizens died. Turkey and Israel have recalled their ambassadors again amid the Gaza crisis, which escalated when the US moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

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