Today, Thursday, an attacker took an unspecified number of hostages in a factory owned by the American giant Procter & Gamble near Istanbul in protest against the war in the Gaza Strip, according to a police spokesperson.

The spokesperson told Agence France-Presse that the number of people held in the factory located in the eastern suburb of Istanbul was not immediately clear.

A union representing the workers in the factory stated that the attacker is holding seven people hostage, noting the release of the other workers.

The private news agency "DHA" published a photo circulated on social media of the alleged attacker holding a gun and wearing what appeared to be a suicide vest.

Photos from the site showed police surrounding the sprawling factory which produces cosmetics.

Turkish media reported that special operations teams and ambulance services headed to the site.