Israel does not want cease-fire in Gaza, Turkish President Erdogan tells Biden

WASHINGTON

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his US counterpart Joe Biden on Thursday that Israel does not want a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

Erdogan said in a telephone call that the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh "dealt a heavy blow" to cease-fire efforts in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has shown "at every step" that it does not want a cease-fire and peace, and his recent address to the US Congress prompted "deep disappointment" in Türkiye and the world, Erdogan told Biden.

Israel is working to spread the fire in Gaza to the entire region, Erdogan stressed.

The phone call came soon after Türkiye announced that the country's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) led a successful prisoner exchange involving seven countries in "one of the most extensive" swap operations in recent years.

A total of 26 individuals from prisons in the US, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and Belarus were exchanged and transported to the Türkiye's capital of Ankara.

Biden thanked Erdogan for his efforts regarding the hostage swap, which includes three American nationals and an American green-card holder — Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza.

The two leaders also discussed bilateral relations during the phone call.

Türkiye is doing its best to develop bilateral relations with the US in every field, Erdogan underlined.