German FM in Türkiye with focus on Gaza – DW – 10/17/2025

According to reports in Israel, an international team of military experts will enter the Gaza Strip to locate the bodies of the hostages.

According to Israel’s Channel 13, the team includes members from the US, Turkey, Qatar and Egypt, and will work with intelligence provided by Israel regarding the possible location of the bodies.

As part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group has committed to return all of its hostages, both living and dead.

While 20 surviving hostages were returned to Israel on Monday, Hamas has returned the bodies of only nine of the remaining 28 hostages, with the group claiming it needs time to locate the bodies due to the destruction in Gaza.

Israel has accused Hamas of moving too slowly in returning the bodies.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadeful is in Turkey on Friday for talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan as well as other Turkish government representatives.

The discussions are set to cover a range of issues, including the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and supporting progress on the next steps of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire plan.

A Foreign Ministry statement seen by DW said there is great potential for foreign policy cooperation between Türkiye and Germany.

“In the Middle East conflict, Turkey contributed to the historic ceasefire in Gaza through its role as mediator. As one of the supporters of the peace plan – and as a state we expect to continue putting pressure on Hamas – Turkey has a responsible role.”

Israel said Thursday it is preparing to reopen the Rafah crossing with Egypt, but has not set a date for the reopening.

Speaking to reporters in Naples, Italy, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was “hopeful” that the crossing would be opened as soon as Sunday.

Israel had previously said that opening the crossing would only allow people to enter and exit the Gaza Strip, and would not allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Once Rafah is reopened, humanitarian aid will be rerouted and will continue to enter Gaza after security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing in the southeast, said a spokesman for COGAT, the Israeli Defense Ministry agency tasked with providing logistics support to the Palestinian territories.

West Midlands Police have banned supporters of Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv from attending their club’s Europa League game at Birmingham-based club Aston Villa, citing security concerns.

Read all about it here.

This Friday our coverage on the Middle East begins with the visit of German Foreign Minister Johann Waddefull to Türkiye.

Germany’s Foreign Ministry has said that the Gaza ceasefire agreement will remain at the center.

Elsewhere, reports in Israel suggest that an international team of military personnel will begin operating in the Gaza Strip in an effort to find the bodies of dead hostages.

Stay here for all the latest news on the Middle East.