Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has revealed that he had an in-person meeting with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah—slain on September 27 in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut—shortly after the Gaza war erupted in early October last year.

In an interview with Turkish state broadcaster TRT on September 28, Fidan said his face-to-face encounter with Nasrallah took place in Lebanon 10 days after the Gaza conflict began. “We had the chance to meet under very difficult conditions,” Fidan said, without disclosing additional details about the meeting. Reflecting on the words exchanged with the leader of the Hezbollah militia and political party of 32 years, he said he had come to the conclusion that Hezbollah would not engage in an all-out war with Israel at the time.

"Nasrallah was a major figure for the region, especially for Lebanon. His absence will leave a void that will be difficult to fill. His death is a significant loss for both Hezbollah and Iran,” said Fidan, who served as the director of Turkey’s MIT national intelligence service until June last year when he became the country’s top diplomat.

Nasrallah was believed to have been living in underground bunkers given the constant danger posed by Israeli forces. He was not known for public appearances.

In further comments, Fidan said that Israel was “apparently eager to spread the [Gaza] war across the region”.

“Where will it turn next? We have some predictions, but for now, we will keep those to ourselves,” he added.

The broader international response to Israel’s actions had proved hypocritical and ineffective, Fidan also said, adding: “If we do not address this systemic failure, we will face many more crises like Gaza.”

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and several members of Israel's cabinet have been engaged in a war of words over the situation in Gaza. Ankara has over the years allowed members of the political wing of Gaza's Hamas group to operate in Turkey, though Israel has made accusations, denied by the Erdogan administration, that the Hamas "terrorist" wing has also been active in Turkey in relation to operations against the Israelis.

In July, Erdogan threatened Israel with military action, though has said nothing more on the matter since.