Turkey's most prominent relief institutions, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) and Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), announced yesterday that food and medical aid for Palestinians will continue.
Deputy Prime Minister Hakan Çavuşoğlu announced on his Twitter account that the TİKA will send aid to Gaza during Ramadan. Çavuşoğlu underlined that Turkey will never abandon the Palestinians or their plight.
"A total of $1 million in humanitarian aid will be delivered during the month of Ramadan with the work of our @Tika_Turkey office in Ramallah. ... During the month of Ramadan, we are aiming to feed 100,000 of our brothers and sisters by providing hot food to 1,000 families per day through @Tika_Turkey in Gaza," the minister tweeted.
Additionally, Çavuşoğlu announced that medical aid will be also distributed by the TİKA in Gaza. "We will also provide a total of $200,000 worth of medicine and medical supplies for the treatment of our Palestinian brothers and sisters, whom we will always support," he said.
Touching on the issue during a TV interview yesterday, the head of the AFAD, Mehmet Güllüoğlu, underlined the importance of Turkey expressing its position on this humanitarian crisis. "What is important is Turkey's stance. It should clearly express that it stands behind Palestine," he said.
On May 14, Güllüoğlu also expressed on Twitter that the need for medicine and food has increased recently. "We are closely following what is happening in Palestine and Gaza. Medicine and food needs have increased a lot in recent months. We are trying to reach out to international organizations and local authorities to get help," Güllüoğlu said.
In response to an appeal from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and the Health Ministry, the Turkish Red Crescent in Gaza and Jerusalem also provided emergency medical supplies worth $100,000 for the injured Palestinians being treated in overwhelmed hospitals in the besieged Gaza Strip, officials from the Turkish aid group said yesterday.