Türkiye sent 40,000 tons of aid to Gaza: Erdoğan
Ambulances donated by Hayrat Humanitarian Assistance Foundation are loaded on vessels in Mersin to be sent to Gaza, Feb. 27, 2024. (AA Photo)


President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye dispatched some 40,000 tons of humanitarian aid supplies to Gaza by air and sea.

Erdoğan stated that the aid sent to Gaza included food, water, hygiene, medical, and shelter supplies, along with 53 ambulances, 1,551 generators, eight field hospitals, and 3,000 tents.

Another vessel belonging to the Turkish Red Crescent, carrying 3,000 tons of aid and dispatched a day earlier, is expected to reach Egypt's Al-Arish port on Sunday, Erdoğan told the general assembly meeting of the Istanbul-based Ilim Yayma Vakfı (The Foundation for the Expansion of Knowledge).

"We will increase the amount of aid throughout the (Muslim holy) month of Ramadan," he added.

Erdoğan also said they had leveraged their "improving ties with Egyptian officials to provide assistance to Gaza."

The Turkish president stressed that the developments in Gaza since Oct. 7 have gone beyond what can be tolerated, saying Türkiye's dedication to ensuring that those "mass murderers," already judged by humanity's conscience, are held responsible under international law.

He also expressed regret over the failure of the Islamic world, with a population of approximately 2 billion, to fulfill its duty of true "brotherhood to the Palestinian people."

Erdoğan likened Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration to the "Nazis of our time, alongside Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin," due to the "humanitarian crimes they committed in Gaza."

He noted that Türkiye stands as the country wholeheartedly supporting the Palestinian cause, with both its government and people.

The president reiterated that Hamas is not classified as a terror group, adding that his country stands firmly in support of Hamas.

Flouting the provisional ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Israel continues its onslaught on the Gaza Strip where at least 30,960 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 72,524 injured since Oct. 7, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the ICJ. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.