By Janet Ekstract ISTANBUL -On Saturday, Hamas credited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with the release of Thai hostages being held in Gaza. As Hamas said in a statement: “In response to the efforts of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas has completed the release of Thai detainees inside the Gaza Strip.” Sources in Ankara reported that through efforts from Turkiye’s national intelligence organization (MIT) with instruction from Erdogan, that 14 Thai nationals were released . Last week, Erdogan and the MIT chief Ibrahim Kalin and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan were working with Qatar to get hostages released. Thai nationals that were freed in a second round of releases, arrived in Israel on Sunday. Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin reported all the released hostages were in good health and excited about contacting their families. Thailand’s foreign ministry said close to 18 Thai nationals were taken hostage. The Thai government in a statement, said it “will continue to make every effort towards the safe release and return of those remaining Thai nationals.”
Photo : AA
