Members of Haniyeh’s family leave Gaza

According to two separate sources, 14 Turkish citizens and 40 relatives of Turkish nationals were released as part of a bilateral agreement between Israel and Turkey.

The decision followed the Gaza ceasefire reached in the first week of October, during which Turkey played a mediating role by helping to bring Hamas to the negotiating table.

Of the 16 members of the Haniyeh family who left Gaza, five were relatives of Turkish citizens.

Turkey has long maintained ties with Haniyeh, who served as the head of Hamas’s Political Bureau, until he was assassinated by Israel in Tehran in July 2024 in what was widely condemned as a criminal act.

Although Turkey does not officially host a Hamas office, the movement’s leaders regularly travel between Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, and Lebanon, often staying in Turkey for extended periods. The Daily Telegraph reported in 2020 that Turkey granted citizenship to several Hamas leaders, including Haniyeh.

According to Middle East Eye, Israel’s decision to allow Haniyeh’s family members to leave Gaza is particularly surprising, given that the Israeli military killed three of his sons and four grandchildren in an airstrike on their car in Gaza in April 2024.

Around the same time, Israel also arrested Haniyeh’s sister, Sabah al-Salem Haniyeh, who was living in Tel al-Sawa, in the southern part of the occupied territories.

Sources familiar with Israeli cabinet deliberations believe that the move reflects an effort to ease tensions with Turkey by responding positively to Ankara’s diplomatic requests.