A source told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that Turkey has recently succeeded in establishing contact with two Hamas factions responsible for holding hostages — groups with which there had been no prior communication.
The development follows Israel’s deportation of 137 flotilla activists to Turkey just two days earlier, a move that came amid heightened tensions between the two nations.
Earlier this month, Ankara announced that it had detained an individual accused of working for Mossad and had launched a criminal investigation into Israel’s interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which took place over Yom Kippur.
The renewed dialogue between Turkey and Hamas coincides with escalating international pressure on the terror group. Just a day earlier, President Donald Trump warned Hamas that it faced “complete obliteration” if it refused to relinquish power in Gaza, a necessary step for the advancement of his ceasefire proposal.
Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu stated on Sunday that no component of Trump’s peace framework would be carried out until every one of the 48 hostages is safely returned to Israel. Netanyahu’s comments came after Trump acknowledged having personally urged the Israeli leader to accept his 20-point plan.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, a Hamas representative told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya network that the organization had begun gathering the remains of deceased Israeli hostages as part of preparations for implementing the proposal.
{Matzav.com Israel}
