Sixteen family members of former Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, who was killed in an Israeli strike, were evacuated from the Gaza Strip earlier this month as part of a bilateral Israel-Turkey deal that included a total of 66 Palestinian and Turkish citizens, according to Middle East Eye.

Ankara, which had long-standing contacts with Haniya, reportedly mediated to allow Israel to withdraw after the ceasefire agreement in early October.

According to sources cited by the media, 14 Turkish citizens and 40 of their close relatives were released as part of a bilateral agreement between Israel and Turkey.

This decision was taken after the ceasefire agreement in Gaza reached in the first week of October. Of the 16 members of the Haniya family, five were relatives of Turkish citizens.

Turkey had long-standing contacts with Haniya, who headed Hamas’ politburo until he was killed in an Israeli strike in July 2024 in Tehran.

Although Turkey does not host an official Hamas office, the group’s operatives frequently travel between Qatar, Turkey, Egypt and Lebanon, sometimes staying in Turkey for months at a time.

The Telegraph newspaper reported as early as 2020 that Turkey had granted citizenship to several senior Hamas figures, including Ismail Haniya.