Ismail Haniyeh, leader of Hamas’ political bureau, will travel to Turkiye this weekend to hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to broadcaster NTV, Al Jazeera reports.

The planned meeting comes more than a week after Haniyeh lost seven family members — three children and four grandchildren — in an Israeli air attack on their car in northern Gaza.

Erdogan, who has been one of the staunchest defenders of Hamas and critics of Israel during the crisis, confirmed he would “host the leader of the Palestinian cause at the weekend”.