Turkey hosts Hamas officials as pro-government media casts Israel as ‘number one threat’

As Netanyahu hints Israel will prevent Ankara from acquiring F-35s, Turkish FM Hakan Fidan discusses Gaza ceasefire and humanitarian aid amid rising tensions

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met on Wednesday with Hamas political bureau officials in Ankara to discuss the ceasefire in Gaza and advancing to the second phase of the agreement, a Turkish foreign ministry source said.

The source said Hamas officials told Fidan they had fulfilled their requirements as part of the ceasefire deal, but that Israel’s continued “targeting” of Gaza aimed to prevent the agreement from moving to the next phase. Since the start of the ceasefire, Israel has targeted numerous individuals it said were terror operatives who crossed into Israel-controlled territory.

The Hamas members also said humanitarian aid entering Gaza was not sufficient, and that goods like medication, equipment for housing and fuel were needed, the source added.

Fidan’s meeting with Hamas officials underscored Ankara’s continued engagement with the terror group. Since the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023, Turkey has positioned itself as one of Hamas’s most vocal supporters on the international stage.

Erdogan has repeatedly praised Hamas as a “resistance movement,” accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and severed key economic and diplomatic ties with Jerusalem, including suspending trade and restricting Israeli access to Turkish airspace.

Wednesday’s revelation came as Turkish pro-government media sharply escalated its rhetoric against Israel, portraying it as a primary strategic threat to Ankara.

The daily Yeni Şafak, a newspaper closely aligned with Erdogan, declared on its front page on Wednesday that “Israel is now the number one threat,” claiming that Turkish state institutions now view Israel as their main security concern. The paper reported that Turkey’s defense ministry, foreign ministry and MIT intelligence service had all elevated Israel to the top of their agendas.

The report also linked Israel to recent clashes in northern Syria, alleging — without evidence — that Jerusalem had encouraged Kurdish forces affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to escalate fighting in Aleppo in order to embarrass Turkey. Ankara classifies the SDF as a terrorist organization due to its ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

According to the paper, the timing of the escalation was significant, as it coincided with a trilateral summit between Israel, Greece and Cyprus, which Ankara has portrayed as an offensive move against its interests in the eastern Mediterranean.

The summit also took place on the same day that Fidan, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Turkey’s MIT chief Ibrahim Kalin were on a working visit to Damascus — timing Yeni Şafak described as suspicious.

On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in Jerusalem, where the three leaders agreed to deepen security cooperation. During the meeting, Netanyahu issued what was widely interpreted as a pointed message aimed at Erdogan, warning that “those who fantasize they can reestablish their empires and their dominion over our lands” should “forget it.”

Netanyahu delivered another pointed message toward Ankara on Wednesday, saying in a speech at an Israeli Air Force pilots’ graduation ceremony that Israel would continue to provide its pilots with “the best instruments” and would “prevent whoever must be prevented from receiving these instruments” — a thinly veiled reference to Turkey’s quest to receive the F-35 fighter jet from the United States.

During US President Donald Trump’s first term, the US removed Turkey, a NATO ally, from its flagship F-35 fighter jet program, after Ankara purchased the S-400 surface-to-air missile system from Russia. Anxious to bolster its air power, Turkey has proposed to European partners and the US ways it could swiftly obtain the fighter jets as it seeks to make up ground versus regional rivals such as Israel.

The US has continued to press Israel to agree to Turkish involvement in postwar arrangements in Gaza, including participation in an international stabilization force — an idea Israel has firmly rejected. An Israeli political source said to Ynet that “it is clear to everyone that Turkey will not be part of any international force” operating in Gaza.