15 Palestinians released from Israel's custody arrive in Türkiye

Türkiye has announced that 15 Palestinian prisoners released as part of the Gaza ceasefire had arrived in Türkiye.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that a few days ago, 15 Palestinians were released from prison, after which Türkiye’s embassy in Cairo issued their visas, allowing them to arrive in Türkiye.

"We believe it would be very beneficial for other regional countries and some other nations to also play a role in this matter," Fidan said on Tuesday at a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdulati.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan instructed the Turkish intelligence agency (MIT) to facilitate the transfer of 15 exiled Palestinians to Türkiye in the first phase through Egypt, a statement said on Tuesday.

As part of the ceasefire agreement and prisoner release, Israel has put a condition that some of the Palestinian prisoners who were serving life in prison would be exiled and would not be allowed to return.

Turkish authorities have made arrangements to host some of those Palestinian prisoners, the official statement said.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire, which took effect on January 19 after several failed attempts. Prisoner exchanges remained one of the most complicated topics during the negotiations.

Israel has imprisoned and detained thousands of Palestinians who were scooped away during its military assaults in the besieged Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed about 50,000 Palestinians and wounded over 100,000 people in its genocidal war on Gaza after the Palestinian resistance group Hamas attacked Israel and took hundreds of captives.

According to the agreement, Hamas will release the captives gradually, and Israel, in return, will free thousands of Palestinians from its infamous prisons.

Several other nations will also host Palestinian prisoners.

Türkiye has been one of the main facilitators of the Gaza ceasefire, along with Qatar and Egypt.