Qatar

Palestinians mourned people killed in Israeli bombardment of Rafah, the crowded southern Gaza city where Israel says it is advancing plans for a ground invasion.

Global concern has mounted over the looming operation against Hamas militants in Rafah, where much of Gaza's population has sought refuge from more than six months of war.

Russia has declared its intention to repatriate 48 deported Ukrainian children to their families, according to Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights. Lvova-Belova stated that Moscow and Kyiv have reached an agreement on the matter, facilitated by mediation from Qatar.

In the first visit of a Greek foreign minister to Doha in five years, George Gerapetritis praised the mediation role of Qatar, stating that Greece has already offered its services and is a reliable interlocutor of all sides and supports in any way it can the resolution of the Middle East crisis.

Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis, speaking to public broadcaster ERT following his Qatar visit, emphasized the challenging circumstances for the region amidst Middle East turmoil, expressing concerns about hostilities extending to Lebanon and Syria. He stressed the urgency of an immediate ceasefire, citing threats to Red Sea navigation.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said he does not believe the Palestinian militant group Hamas will leave Qatar, where it is based, adding he had seen no such signs that Doha wished the group to leave, either.

Türkiye will launch a new effort with the office of the U.N. secretary-general against the Israeli occupation of Gaza and its continued massacres against the Palestinians, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, urging the Islamic world to produce more effective and tangible measures on this issue.

Fighters taking part in the Iniochos 2024 multinational air exercise fly over the coast of the southwestern Peloponnese on Thursday. The 10-day exercise lasted 10 daysn and eight countries, besides Greece, took part: Cyprus, France, Montenegro, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain and the UK.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday received Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul as Middle East tensions run high.

The meeting at the Dolmabahce palace on the banks of the Bosphorus began shortly after 2:30 pm (1130 GMT) and lasted about two and a half hours.

In line with the intensified efforts for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held talks with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during a visit to Türkiye on April 20.

More than six months of Israel's military offensive in Gaza has turned the Palestinian territory into a "humanitarian hellscape", U.N. chief Antonio Guterres said Thursday, also warning that one wrong move could see the Middle East devolve into a wider war as United States sank a long-shot Palestinian bid for full United Nations membership, vetoing a Security Council vote.