Senior Hamas officials met in Turkey last week to plan next steps in war against Israel

Senior Hamas officials secretly met last week in the Republic of Turkey to strategize their next move in the war with Israel, Israel’s local KAN news outlet reported on Sunday night.

Deputy Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau Saleh-al-Arouri attended the meeting online from his residence in Beirut, Lebanon, along with former Hamas Chief Khaled Mashal, who resides in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Several other senior Hamas leaders attended the meeting, according to KAN News.

The meeting location in Turkey was chosen deliberately to ensure the safety of the leaders and to prevent Israeli intelligence from infiltrating through technological means.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has consistently taken an anti-Israel stance since the start of the war, accusing Israel of war crimes.

Hamas has not yet confirmed its next steps, however, another hostage-prisoner exchange deal is said to be on the table. According to KAN News, Egyptian officials said that Israel and Hamas leaders are both open to a renewed ceasefire and hostage release but have not agreed on the details yet.

Of the 240 hostages Hamas abducted on Oct. 7, when they invaded Israel’s southern border communities, killing at least 1,200, there are 129 remaining, not all of them alive, Israeli officials reported.

According to The Times of Israel, Hamas has insisted on unilaterally deciding which hostages to release and has demanded that Israeli troops withdraw to pre-determined lines. Israel is said to have rejected Hamas' conditions, demanding to see the list of hostages before the time and duration of the ceasefire are set.

Earlier in December, Israel’s Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar vowed to hunt down Hamas leaders in Lebanon, Turkey and Qatar, “even if it takes years.” Turkish President Erdoğan fired back a warning at the time, promising “serious consequences” if it were to do so.

Erdoğan has stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “will be tried as a war criminal over Israel’s offensive in Gaza, calling him the “Gaza butcher”.

“Israel is not only a murderer but also a thief,” the Turkish leader said while giving a speech at an Organization of Islamic Cooperation committee in Istanbul.

“We cannot let Israel occupy Gaza once again,” he continued claiming Gaza is Palestinian land and will always belong to the Palestinians.”