Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that he would receive a leader of Palestinian movement Hamas at the end of the week.
"A Palestinian movement leader will be my guest at the end of the week," Erdogan told a meeting of his AK Party in parliament, during which he accused Israel of "genocide."
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel and breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases. Nearly 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted during the attack.
Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Nearly 33,900 people have been killed so far by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.