FM Fidan discusses Gaza cease-fire with Hamas chief Haniyeh
Palestinians gather at at the site of an Israeli strike at a tent camp in Al-Mawasi area, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 16, 2024. (Reuters Photo)


Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed the situation in Gaza and developments regarding the cease-fire discussions with Hamas' political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh on Tuesday, diplomatic sources said.

During the conversation, Fidan addressed the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and concerning developments resulting from increasing hunger and diseases in northern Gaza.

Additionally, Fidan and Haniyeh discussed the latest developments in cease-fire negotiations with Israel.

Flouting a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

More than 38,700 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 89,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.