Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) director Ibrahim Kalın met with Muhammad Darwish, the head of the Hamas Shura Council, security sources said Saturday.
Kalın and Darwish, as well as the accompanying delegation, discussed measures to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza under Israeli attacks and the coordination of international efforts for it, sources said.
The pair also discussed the latest efforts to reach a permanent and comprehensive cease-fire that “will stop Israel’s genocidal activities” in Gaza.
Demonstrating a shared stance against all Israeli plans to expel the people of Gaza from their homelands was also on the table, according to security sources.
They said Kalın underscored that Türkiye will “always stand by the people of Gaza, who have shown great determination and patience to protect their lands despite Israel’s attacks targeting civilians and starvation policies to deport Palestinians.”
The pair rejected Israel’s expansionist and occupation policies and agreed to oppose any fresh attempts to occupy and annex Gaza.
Türkiye will continue to support all international efforts towards a permanent cease-fire, Kalın told Darwish.
NATO member Türkiye has been a traditional ally to Palestine, but the more brutal Israeli attacks became, the harsher Ankara has made its criticism. It has condemned what it calls genocide, halted all trade with Israel and applied to join a genocide case against Israel at the World Court, which Israel rejects.
Türkiye also maintains close ties with Hamas, which President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan deems a “liberation organization” unlike Western nations who classify it as a terrorist group.
In addition to delivering humanitarian aid, the Turkish government has sought to rally international organizations, including the United Nations, NATO, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to both restrain Israel and encourage cooperation between Palestinian factions, most notably between Hamas and the Fatah movement.