Live Middle East: Turkey: Trade with Israel resumes as Gaza war ends permanently

10:38

Turkey: Trade with Israel to resume upon permanent end to Gaza war

Turkey will resume trade with Israel once the war in the Gaza Strip finally ends. Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat said this today. Yesterday he announced that Ankara had immediately ended trade relations with Israel, citing ‘the worsening humanitarian tragedy’ in the Palestinian territories as the reason.

The trade freeze appears intended to increase pressure on Israel to reach an agreement with Hamas on a pause in fighting. Negotiations have been stalling for months due to, among other things, Hamas’s demand for a permanent end to the war in Gaza. Israel insists that even after a possible ceasefire, the fighting will have to continue to definitively defeat Hamas.

The termination of trade may have major consequences for the Turkish economy. Turkey and Israel traded around 6.4 billion euros last year, according to Turkish statistics. Three quarters of this concerned the export of Turkish products to Israel.

Ties between the two countries have deteriorated sharply since the October 7 Hamas terror attack. Turkish President Erdogan has said he stands firmly behind Hamas. Two weeks ago, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh visited Ankara. Moreover, Erdogan has regularly compared Netanyahu’s government to the Nazis.

Thom Canters

08:27

Iran: Crew of hijacked cargo ship linked to Israel released

Iran says it has released the crew of the recently hijacked cargo ship MSC Aries. This was reported by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs https://twitter.com/IRIMFA/status/1786050712960475337.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards boarded the ship three weeks ago, which was sailing in the Gulf of Oman at the time. According to Iran, the ship turned off its navigation system and thus violated maritime law.

However, the hijacking came days after Iran vowed revenge for the Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, which killed senior Revolutionary Guard figures.

The MSC Aries sails under the Portuguese flag and is owned by Zodiac Maritime, which is partly owned by an Israeli billionaire.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announced a few days ago that the 25 crew members from India, the Philippines, Pakistan, Russia and Estonia would be released. Iran will continue to seize the ship for the time being.

Thom Canters

04:33

Hamas leader in Gaza has three demands for a truce

The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, has three demands for a truce with Israel. A source close to Sinwar told the Israeli TV channel Channel 12 on Thursday evening. The Hamas leader continues to demand a guaranteed end to the war. Israel has so far rejected that.

Sinwar would like a written commitment for an ‘unconditional end to the fighting’. According to the broadcaster, the Hamas leader also demands that Israel not prevent Palestinian prisoners who would be released in exchange for Israeli hostages from returning to the West Bank.

According to the latest draft of a deal, Israel wants to send the prisoners serving life sentences to the Gaza Strip or abroad.

The Hamas leader would also like more details about materials that Israel wants to allow to be delivered to the coastal area for reconstruction. Channel 12 suspects that Sinwar wants to ensure that Hamas can rebuild its tunnels and other military infrastructure.

Hamas has yet to officially respond to a new ceasefire proposal. Egyptian media previously reported that the Hamas delegation is expected in Cairo in the next two days, where talks on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip are taking place. (Belga)

03:04

Israeli hostage declared dead

An Israeli hostage held in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas attacks on October 7 has been declared dead. The Israeli authorities and the man’s family announced this early Friday morning.

Dror Or, 49, was officially declared dead in a statement from Kibbutz Be’eri, where the man lived and was badly hit in the October 7 attack.

His wife Yonat was killed in the attack. Two of their three children, Noam and Alma, aged 17 and 13 respectively, were kidnapped and later released under a ceasefire agreement in late November.

“It has now been confirmed that Dror Or, kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, was murdered and his body is being held in Gaza,” the Israeli government and the Israeli embassy in the Netherlands also wrote on X. (AP)

02:04

Pro-Palestinian protests at Canadian universities

Students have set up pro-Palestinian camps on university campuses in Canada, including Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. Quebec Premier François Legault has called for the camp at McGill University in Montreal to be cleared.

The Canadian protests come as police in the United States have arrested hundreds of student activists. At the University of California in Los Angeles, among other places, there were harsh confrontations between police and activists on Thursday.

A counter-protest was also held in Montreal by supporters of Israel. They did not clash with the pro-Palestinian demonstrators. The groups were kept apart.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier this week: ‘Universities are places for learning, for freedom of expression, but that only works when people feel safe on campus. Right now, Jewish students don’t feel safe. That is not good.’ (AP)

01:11

Syria: eight soldiers injured in Israel attack on Damascus

Eight Syrian soldiers were injured in an Israeli airstrike near the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday evening. The Syrian Ministry of Defense announced this.

An anonymous source told Reuters that the affected building belongs to the Syrian security services. This would be close to a place where units of Iran and the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah are located. The Israeli Defense Forces declined to comment on the message.

Israel and Iran are at loggerheads following an attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, which was blamed on Israel. Iran then carried out a major retaliatory attack on Israel, firing at least three hundred missiles and drones. Almost all of them were intercepted.

Israel responded to the Iranian attack with a new attack, which was scaled down under American pressure, Israeli sources said The New York Times. (AP)

20:58, Yesterday

Welcome to the live blog of Friday, May 3

This was the most important news about the crisis in the Middle East on Thursday, May 2:

• Hamas is not yet happy with the latest Israeli proposal for a ceasefire. Negotiations are still continuing.

• The reconstruction of cities and homes in the Gaza Strip could take eighty years, according to the UN.

• Turkey has stopped exporting to and importing from Israel.

Read Thursday’s entire live blog here.