Istanbul:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held hours of talks with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul on Saturday, urging Palestinians to unite amid Israel’s war in Gaza.

Erdogan has failed to establish himself as a mediator in the Gaza conflict that has roiled the region, and the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territories are bracing for a new Israeli offensive amid reports of Israeli attacks on Iran.

Erdogan said Palestinian unity was “vital” after the talks at Dolmabahce Palace on the shores of the Bosporus. According to Turkish media reports, the talks lasted for more than two and a half hours.

“The strongest response to Israel and the path to victory lies in unity and integrity,” Erdogan said, according to a Turkish presidential statement.

Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel, is a rival to the Fatah faction that rules the semi-autonomous Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank.

As fears of war in the wider region grow, Erdogan said recent events between Iran and Israel should not allow Israel to “make progress, it is important to take action and put the spotlight on Gaza”.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz condemned the meeting, writing on X: “Muslim Brotherhood Alliance: rape, murder, desecration of corpses and burning of babies. Shame on you, Erdogan!”

Hamas was founded in 1987 by members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Close relationship with Chania

Qatar said it would reassess its role as mediator between Hamas and Israel, with Erdogan sending Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to Doha on Wednesday in a new sign that he wants to play a role.

“Even if only I, Tayyip Erdogan, remain, as long as God grants me life, I will continue to defend the Palestinian struggle and be the voice of the oppressed Palestinian people,” the president said Wednesday in announcing Haniyeh’s visit.

Hamas has had an office in Turkey since 2011, when Turkey helped the group reach a deal to release Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Erdogan remains in touch with Haniyeh, who has been a frequent visitor.

Sinan Sidi, a Turkey expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, said Fidan served as the head of Turkey’s intelligence service and that the country provided information and passports to Hamas officials, including Haniyeh.

However, this claim has never been confirmed by Turkish authorities.

Erdogan to lash out at Israel

If Qatar withdraws from mediation efforts, Turkey may seek to increase its mediation profile based on its ties to Hamas.

Fidan held talks with visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Saturday, with both men stressing the need for more humanitarian aid to the famine-threatened Gaza Strip.

Türkiye is one of Gaza’s main humanitarian aid partners, delivering 45,000 tons of supplies and medicines to the area.

Israel says it is preparing an offensive on the Gaza city of Rafah, with reports of an attack on Iran’s Isfahan province following a direct Iranian attack on Israel, clouding hopes for a peace breakthrough.

But Sidi said Erdogan could only expect a “very limited” role because of his outspoken condemnation of Israel and its actions in Gaza.

Last year, the Turkish leader compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s tactics to those of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and called Israel a “terrorist state” because of the attack on Hamas on October 7 After the Japanese attack on Israel, Israel launched an attack on Hamas.

Sidi said Erdogan would not be welcome in Israel and would at best serve to send a message between Palestinian and Israeli negotiators.

Unprecedented attacks by Hamas that triggered the war in Gaza left 1,170 people dead in southern Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

Hamas also took about 250 hostages. Israel estimates that 129 people remain in Gaza, 34 of whom are presumed dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed 34,049 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled region’s health ministry.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)