Palestinian FM visits wounded Gazans in Turkey


Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malik, who travelled to Turkey to attend President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's inauguration ceremony yesterday, visited wounded Palestinians who were brought to Turkey for treatment. On the same day a Turkish air force plane left Ankara to bring 33 more wounded Gazans for treatment.The Gazans were scheduled to be picked up from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. Around 80 people from Gaza, injured in the 50-day long Israeli bombardment have been flown to Turkey for hospital treatment since the beginning of August. The next group of wounded Palestinians will receive medical treatment in the central Anatolian province of Afyonkarahisar.There are 17 volunteer medical staff on board from Turkey's National Medical Rescue Organization, (known by initials UMKE in Turkish), which launches humanitarian operations at home and abroad during disasters. The Turkish government plans to bring a total of 200 Gazans to Turkey for treatment.An Egypt-brokered cease-fire went into effect on Tuesday, ending 51 days of relentless Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in which 2,145 Palestinians were killed and over 11,000 injured - the vast majority of them civilians.Following the Gaza cease-fire, the Turkish Red Crescent expedited its humanitarian aid to Palestine. Having already started supplying humanitarian aid to Gazans ahead of the cease-fire, the Turkish Red Crescent, which received approval for delivering aid from the Egyptian border, has sped up its initiatives to reach the region more quickly.As part of the humanitarian process, the Turkish Red Crescent delivered diapers to meet the necessity of 5,000 babies for 15 days. Continuing its talks with the Palestine Red Crescent, the Turkish Red Crescent is continuing to purchase humanitarian aid in Egypt, it is reported. More humanitarian aid is expected to be delivered from the Rafah border crossing in the upcoming days.Meanwhile, medicine donated by Turkish citizens has also started to be delivered to Gaza. The Turkish Pharmacist Cooperation donated 543 packages of medicine to the region. Since the Israeli government's offensive in Gaza started, Turkey's humanitarian aid to Gazans and initiatives to bring the injured to Turkey for treatment have continued.