SHOTLIST

ANTALYA, TÜRKİYE (OCT. 16, 2025) (ANADOLU – ACCESS ALL)

1. VARIOUS OF PREPARATIONS OF TURKISH WORLD RECORD-HOLDING FREE DIVER SAHIKA ERCUMEN ANTALYA, TÜRKİYE - OCT. 16, 2025: Turkish world record-holding free diver and UN “Life Below Water” advocate Sahika Ercumen is preparing for a new world record attempt under the banner “Let Gaza Breathe, Let the Darkness Turn to Light,” following the cease-fire in Gaza.

Ercumen plans to dive 107 meters in the variable weight without fins category, surpassing her own record of 106 meters. The dive, set for Kas, Antalya, will honor both the 102nd anniversary of the Turkish Republic and the people of Gaza.

“I want to dive so that Gaza can breathe,” Ercumen told Anadolu. “I know what it means to hold your breath underwater for minutes. What the people in Gaza have been enduring for years is an ongoing injustice.”

The dive, expected to last about 3½ minutes, will be conducted under international judges and broadcast live from underwater. Ercumen likened it to “descending to the bottom of a 40-story building,” where she will face more than 11 atmospheres of pressure.

Last week, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a plan he laid out on Sept. 29 to bring a ceasefire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip. Phase one of the deal came into force last Friday.

Under the deal, Hamas released 20 living Israeli hostages and handed over the remains of 10 captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Phase two of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza, without Hamas’ participation, the formation of a multinational force, and the disarmament of Hamas.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it largely uninhabitable.