A car passes by a giant billboard demanding the release of hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Ramat Gan, Israel, on Wednesday. [Reuters]
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers, including Greek-Americans Gus Bilirakis and Nicole Malliotakis, plan to send a letter on Thursday to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, requesting a classified briefing on Turkey’s alleged support for Hamas.
The letter follows reports that senior Hamas leaders have relocated from Qatar to Turkey and are planning to establish headquarters there.
Thursday’s briefing request also asks for clarifications on whether Turkey’s alleged support for Hamas extends to the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus, after the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the occupied part of the island was being used “both for terrorism objectives and as an operational and transit area.”
“The potential of Hamas crossing the UN buffer zone in the Republic of Cyprus poses a direct risk to the US and its allies, as the Republic of Cyprus acts as a central evacuation point for US citizens. Furthermore, in addition to two UK military bases being located on the island and France operating out of the Republic of Cyprus, the United States, along with Germany and the Netherlands, have recently deployed troops to the island,” the American Hellenic Institute said in a press release.