Türkiye’s leading charity, the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay), in cooperation with a business association and donors from around the country, arranged a major aid shipment to Gaza, the Palestinian enclave where malnutrition and lack of access to basic amenities threaten the well-being of thousands.
The ship is expected to reach Egypt’s Al-Arish port on Friday, a few days before the beginning of Islam's holy month of Ramadan, associated with charity. Turkish Red Crescent officials said it was their largest shipment so far to the region, where they have already delivered six shiploads of aid.
The charity’s chair, professor Fatma Meriç Yılmaz, said at the port of Mersin in southern Türkiye, where the ship departed from, that they were excited to help the people of Gaza. “Gaza is a bleeding wound for us. You cannot turn a blind eye to the images of suffering children and women. We always wanted to do something but were worried if our aid would reach them,” she said.
Israeli’s blockade of the Palestinian enclave often hinders aid efforts. Türkiye collaborates with Egypt, which hosts the only feasible land crossing with Gaza for the delivery of aid.
Since the new round of conflict broke in the region, Türkiye sent thousands of tons of aid to Egypt for delivery to Gaza, either by military planes or vessels. Turkish charities organized nationwide campaigns to collect donations for Gazans. Turkish Red Crescent’s latest batch of aid is the result of a donation campaign largely contributed by the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSİAD). Yılmaz said MÜSİAD launched a campaign for Gaza before Ramadan and donated a large amount of food packages that were also aboard the aid vessel “Marin.” For the Muslim faithful, Ramadan, where Muslims observe fasting, is a month of “sharing” and non-profit organizations in Türkiye often deliver aid throughout the month to people in need in the country and across the world.
Yılmaz said what they could do now was “limited” under current circumstances and said they would continue advocating for a cease-fire that would facilitate aid access to Gaza. She noted that Türkiye dispatched 12 planes and six vessels loaded with humanitarian aid but Thursday’s delivery was the largest sent by sea.
The vessel will carry 110,000 food packages, 620 tons of flour, enough bottles of water to fill 14 trucks and also mobile kitchens. Yılmaz said the mobile kitchens could serve 5,000 meals. After arrival at the port of al-Arish, the aid will be loaded onto trucks for delivery to the Gaza border.
She highlighted that the ship would be reloaded and return to Egypt once it completed its delivery of the current aid this week.
Yılmaz noted that the Turkish Red Crescent has been active in Gaza since 1995 with an aid delegation comprised of local staff.
“They were in charge of delivering 1,000 meals daily and in Ramadan, it will be increased to 5,000 meals,” she said.
“People are starving to death in Gaza. They have no access to water and medicine. They are fighting for their lives. We will show them that we will not forget them and we will continue shouting ‘enough’ to a conflict that lacks even dignity.
“Civilians, women and children should not be targeted,” she said.
Yılmaz stated that they would continue delivering aid as long as the plight of Palestinians lingered and were ready to serve Gaza in rebuilding the enclave once a permanent cease-fire is achieved.
