ANKARA/ISTANBUL: Police detained an armed man who took staff hostage at a Procter & Gamble factory in northwestern Turkiye on Thursday and rescued seven hostages, ending a protest against Israel鈥檚 military campaign in Gaza, the local governor鈥檚 office said.

The Kocaeli governor鈥檚 office said that the hostages were unharmed, adding that the operation to rescue them was launched after negotiations with the hostage-taker failed.
鈥淥ur security forces intervened and neutralized the suspect,鈥� the statement said, adding that the hostage-taker was an employee of the factory who 鈥渨anted to draw attention to the ongoing occupation in Gaza.鈥�
The hostages were six men and a woman, media reports had said.
Earlier local media reports mentioned two hostage-takers, but a statement by the P&G鈥檚 head office in Cincinnati, US, hours later also referred to one assailant.
鈥淭he fact that no one was harmed is our greatest relief. We are grateful to the authorities and first responders who managed the situation with courage and professionalism,鈥� the spokesperson said.
Earlier, private news agency DHA said the suspects entered the main building of the facility at around 3 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) and took seven members of the staff hostage.
It claimed the suspects鈥� actions were to highlight the loss of life in the Palestinian enclave. Some 27,000 have been killed in Israel鈥檚 military operation since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.
Ismet Zihni said his wife Suheyla was among the hostages. Speaking from near the factory, he told DHA that he had called her. 鈥淪he answered 鈥榃e鈥檝e been taken hostage, we鈥檙e fine鈥� and she hung up,鈥� he said.
P&G Turkiye employs 700 people at three sites in Istanbul and Kocaeli, according to the company鈥檚 website. It produces cleaning and hygiene brands such as Ariel washing powder and Oral B toothpaste.
Public feeling against Israel and its main ally the US has risen in Turkiye since the conflict began, with regular protests in support of the Palestinian people in major cities and calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been particularly outspoken, referring to Israeli 鈥渨ar crimes鈥� and comparing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
The US Embassy in Ankara issued a warning in November about demonstrations 鈥渃ritical of US foreign policy鈥� and calls for boycotts of US businesses. The advice followed protests and attacks on outlets such as McDonald鈥檚 and Starbucks over the conflict in Gaza.
The photograph of the suspect carried in the Turkish media shows him with a black-and-white Arabic headscarf covering his face. He is standing next to a graffitied wall showing the Turkish and Palestinian flags with the slogan 鈥淭he gates will open. Either musalla or death for Gaza.鈥� A musalla is an open prayer area for Muslims, usually used for funeral rites.