The Turkish authorities announced that they have arrested an armed man who had held employees at a factory near Istanbul, owned by the American company Procter & Gamble. They successfully rescued 7 hostages, ending the operation staged in protest against the Israeli war on Gaza.
The statement from the governor’s office of Kocaeli province, released on Thursday, confirmed that the hostages were unharmed. It was revealed that the rescue operation commenced after negotiations with the hostage-taker, who was also an employee at the factory, failed.
The statement further mentioned, “Our security forces intervened and neutralized the suspect, who aimed to draw attention to the ongoing occupation of Gaza.”
Earlier, the Turkish news agency Demirören reported that the armed man entered a factory in the Gebze industrial area of Kocaeli province at around 3 pm local time, with the police rushing to the scene and attempting to persuade the man to surrender.
A photo published by local media showed the man inside the factory, wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh and holding a weapon, gesturing the victory sign in front of a wall adorned with the flags of Turkey and Palestine, with the inscription “For Gaza.”
Since the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza, Turkey has witnessed numerous demonstrations in support of the Palestinian people, urging the Turkish government to take action to halt the massacres.
The incident has been attributed to growing tensions and protests regarding the situation in Gaza, and the ongoing support for Palestine.
