A relative of a hostage waits as Turkish police secure the area of the Procter & Gamble plant after a gunman took a number of people hostage in Gebze district of Kocaeli, Turkey, on Thursday. Officials said Friday that the suspect has been apprehended and the hostages have been rescued. Photo by Erdem Sahin/EPA-EFE
Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Authorities in Turkey have detained a gunman who took seven people hostage at a factory of U.S. manufacturer Procter & Gamble in protest of Israel's war in Gaza, officials said early Friday.
The situation at the factory in the Gebze district of Turkey's northwestern province of Kocaeli began Thursday. The office of Gov. Seddar Yavuz said in a statement Friday that authorities and health officials were dispatched to the site and following hours of failed negotiations, security forces "intervened and neutralized the suspect."
"The hostages were safely rescued and the person who carried out the act has been taken into custody," Yavuz's office said. "A comprehensive investigation into the incident has been initiated."
On X, the governor described the operation that secured the rescue of the hostages as "meticulous."
All hostages were also in good health, he said.
"I congratulate our security units," he added.
His office said that the suspect had taken the seven people hostage in order to "draw attention to the ongoing occupation in Gaza" where Israel has been waging a brutal war against the Iran-backed Hamas since the militant group killed 1,200 Israelis in a surprised attack on Oct. 7
According to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 27,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in Gaza and more than 66,000 injured.
UPI has contacted P&G for comment.
