Turkey's Erdogan says he does not believe Hamas will leave Qatar

ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday he does not believe the Palestinian group Hamas will leave Qatar, where it is based, adding he had seen no such signs that Doha wished the group to leave, either.

Erdogan, who was returning from a visit to Iraq, was asked by reporters on board the flight about media reports suggesting Hamas may leave its base in Qatar or be asked to leave by Doha.

Erdogan said he had received no signs of the Qatari leadership wanting the group to leave.

Turkey, which has previously hosted senior members of Hamas, has denounced Israel for its campaign in Gaza and called for a ceasefire. Israel's military assault has come in response to Hamas' Oct. 7 deadly attacks in Israel.

Erdogan, who has called Hamas a "liberation movement," met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul over the weekend.

"What is important is not where Hamas' leaders are, but the situation in Gaza," Erdogan said, according to a text of the in-flight interview published by his office.

"The sincerity they (Qatar) have toward them (Hamas), their stance toward them, has always been like a member of the family. In the coming period, I absolutely do not think it is possible for them to change this approach," he said.

Hamas seized control in Gaza in 2007, a year after elections, following a brief civil war with Palestinian Authority security forces that reduced the PA's rule to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Efforts to reconcile the two sides have so far failed over thorny power-sharing issues.

Erdogan said a full capture of Gaza by Israel would open the door for further invasion of Palestinian territories, and said, without providing evidence, that Israel was committing "unprecedented massacres" while "moving to destroy Gaza".

Israel has said its military actions in Gaza are aimed at rooting out Hamas to prevent a recurrence of the October attack and that it has no plan to conquer, occupy or govern the territory.

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