Turkish security sources said Tuesday that 15 Palestinians released by Israel as part of a cease-fire deal between the Tel Aviv administration and the Hamas resistance movement arrived in Türkiye. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirmed the move.
The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) arranged the trip upon the orders of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to help facilitate the handover.
Israel and Hamas agreed upon a cease-fire after more than two years of attacks by Israel on the Gaza Strip, which killed nearly 50,000 people and injured more than 100,000 others. Some 15,000 people from Gaza have been detained since then. The cease-fire deal included the exchange of Israeli and Palestinian prisoners. Israel agreed to release Palestinian prisoners who were sentenced to life on the condition that they would not return to Palestine.
Fidan announced last week in Qatar that some Palestinians forced to leave their country would be hosted by Türkiye and other countries.
Sources said MIT worked to arrange the travel of 15 Palestinians in the first stage of a plan to accommodate freed prisoners in another country. They traveled to Türkiye via Egypt. Sources said Türkiye has also arranged for Palestinians to live a “secure, happy life” in the country.
At a news conference with the visiting Egyptian foreign minister, Minister Fidan said their admission should not be misinterpreted, and Türkiye sought to serve peace.
Since Israel launched its ground invasion of Gaza in 2023, thousands of Palestinians – including women, children, medical personnel and civil defense workers – have been detained. Only a small number have been released, many of whom showed clear signs of torture and starvation. A cease-fire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, which began on Jan. 19, includes a three-phase prisoner exchange process, with each phase lasting 42 days. The agreement was mediated by Qatar and Egypt and supported by the United States. The second phase will involve the release of Israeli soldiers, and the third phase will address the return of Israeli remains.
A list issued earlier by the Israeli Justice Ministry indicated that over 180 prisoners set to be released were to be deported outside the country in exchange for Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The agreement does not specify the countries where deported prisoners will be sent, but Israeli media, including the country's public broadcaster KAN, reported that destinations might include Qatar or Egypt. Israel claims the deportation aims to minimize "security risks" the prisoners might pose if returned to the occupied West Bank.
“We have supported the cease-fire agreement from the beginning. One of its conditions, agreed upon by the parties, is that certain Palestinian prisoners will not remain in Palestinian territories after their release. We saw this in the case of Gilad Shalit when we were asked to take in some Palestinians, and we agreed," Fidan said in Doha on Sunday. Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was captured by Hamas in 2006 and was released in 2011 with efforts of Türkiye, which admitted a group of Palestinian prisoners released by Israel in exchange for Shalit.
Türkiye is a staunch supporter of Hamas and repeatedly denounced Israel's "genocide" in Gaza against millions of Palestinians. On the diplomatic side, it has worked to establish a cease-fire and a lasting solution to the issue since October 2023. It also dispatched a large amount of aid to the Gaza Strip, although those supplies largely failed to reach their destination due to the Israeli blockade. Aid was only allowed last week after the cease-fire deal. Fidan said that they set up mobile field hospitals in the region and were ready to admit patients from Gaza.
