Turkey hopes for ‘lasting peace’ after Gaza ceasefire: Erdoğan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Wednesday that his country hoped for a “lasting peace” in Gaza after the announcement of a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas, Agence France-Presse reported.

“We hope this agreement will be beneficial for our region and for all humanity, particularly for our Palestinian brothers, and that it will open the way to lasting peace and stability,” Erdoğan said on X.

The truce, announced by mediators Qatar and the United States on Wednesday, would take effect on Sunday and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be finalized.

The agreement followed months of fruitless negotiations to end the deadliest war in Gaza’s history, and, if finalized, would pause hostilities one day before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

The war was triggered by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in the death of around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

During the attack, the deadliest in Israeli history, Palestinian militants also took 251 people hostage, 94 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel’s ensuing campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing 46,707 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry.