The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has coordinated with Hamas to secure the release of five Thai hostages on Thursday held in the Gaza Strip, Turkish security sources reported on the same day.
The agency, which has mediated the release of some foreign hostages held in Gaza following requests for assistance from several countries, has worked with its Thai counterpart for the release of Thai nationals held in Gaza, according to sources.
In line with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s instructions, MIT maintained contact with all actors since the start of the cease-fire process and conducted effective intelligence diplomacy with the Palestinian resistance group, sources added.
Five Thai workers were among the eight captives Hamas released in Gaza as part of the cease-fire deal with Israel, which was expected to free 110 Palestinians in return.
The handover took place outside the ruins of the house of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Under the first phase of the deal, 33 Israeli captives are set to be released in exchange for an estimated 1,700 to 2,000 Palestinian detainees.
The Israeli onslaught on Gaza has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
Türkiye hopes the second and third stages of the cease-fire will be successfully completed, Erdoğan told a Hamas delegation in Ankara on Wednesday evening.
The U.S. credited Erdoğan for helping convince Hamas to return to the cease-fire negotiations, using his "influence and leverage."
Türkiye has been fiercely critical of Israel’s brutal offensive in Gaza, which it and others say amounts to genocide. It has also slammed many Western allies for their support of Israel and repeatedly called for Muslim unity to facilitate a desperately needed cease-fire.
Türkiye is a staunch supporter of Hamas, which it describes as a resistance movement, unlike the Western countries, which mostly define it as a terrorist group, and hosted its political leaders several times to discuss cease-fire efforts and the humanitarian aid crisis in the blockaded enclave.
It has formally applied to join South Africa's initiative to have Israel tried for genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
