ANKARA, January 21. /TASS/. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held talks on Saturday with spokesman for Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh on the current developments in the Gaza Strip and ways to settle the ongoing conflict, a Turkish diplomatic source told TASS.

"Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan received Hamas Politburo Chairman Ismail Haniyeh," the source said.

"During the meeting, they discussed a possible and soonest implementation of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, ways to increase humanitarian aid, the release of hostages and the settlement of the conflict based on the formation of two states to reach the lasting peace," the source added.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023 after militants of the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly.

Hamas described its attack as a response to the Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Israel has declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and started a military operation there. Israel is also striking parts of Lebanon and Syria in retaliation for attacks originating from those countries. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.