Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in Cairo on his first visit since 2012, sealing a thaw in ties and weighing in on indirect talks between Israel and Hamas on pausing the Gaza war.
Erdogan is welcomed at Cairo airport by his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and the two men exchange a handshake on the tarmac, footage of his arrival shows.
Erdogan, an outspoken critic of Israel’s conduct of the Gaza war, said Monday that he would discuss with efforts to halt the bloodshed with Sissi.
His arrival coincides with that of the Hamas terror group, which dispatched a delegation to Cairo today for talks mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States.
Erdogan earlier said his meetings in Egypt, as well as the United Arab Emirates, would “look at what more can be done for our brothers in Gaza.”
“As Turkey, we continue to make every effort to stop the bloodshed,” he told a news conference.
Istanbul served as a base for Hamas political leaders before the October 7 attack. The NATO member asked Hamas chiefs to leave after some were captured on video celebrating the unprecedented attack.
Ankara in November recalled its ambassador to Israel, and has maintained intermittent communication with the Hamas leadership, who see Turkey as a potential ally in ceasefire negotiations.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From 
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
