The prominent charity Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) spearheads the country’s efforts to address the needs of thousands of Palestinians suffocating under the Israeli blockade and constant assaults, including a soup kitchen in the enclave to deliver daily meals to the displaced.
The soup kitchen serves 10,000 people in the Gaza Strip daily. Until May 6, it was serving Palestinians in Rafah near the border with Egypt, where the displaced had amassed to escape Tel Aviv's onslaught. Yet, Israel’s plans to attack the population there forced the Red Crescent to close the kitchen. The kitchen has since reopened in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Turkish Red Crescent officials say they will continue delivering food to Gazans facing the risk of starvation.
The charity is also organizing an aid campaign for Gaza on the occasion of the upcoming Islamic holiday Qurban Bayram, or Eid al-Adha, where the faithful slaughter animals and deliver their meat to the needy. The Red Crescent annually collects meat donations in every bayram and sends canned meat to impoverished communities across the world, from Africa to Asia. The scheme involves donors wiring funds to the charity to buy sacrificial animals (usually cows and sheep), which are slaughtered under Islamic rules in countries where the campaign is held. In the past, fresh meat was delivered to impoverished families, but the Red Crescent has turned to canned meat distribution in recent years to deliver food throughout the year instead of only one week.
The Turkish Red Crescent plans to deliver some 400,000 cans of meat from sacrificial animal donations in Türkiye to Gaza via one of its “Goodness Ships.” In April, the charity sent its 10th ship to Gaza since a new round of conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023. The charity also cooperates with the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) to provide water to Gazans via Egypt. It signed a deal with an Egyptian water plant for daily delivery of 7 tons of water to Gaza. In the meantime, it plans to deliver aid via Jordan to Gaza, with 24 trucks ready to disperse the supplies.
The United Nations has long complained of obstacles to getting aid in and distributing it throughout Gaza in the six months since Israel began an aerial and ground offensive in Gaza.
The Turkish Red Crescent deployed its largest aid shipment of the year to besieged Gaza early in March in time for the holy month of Ramadan, delivering over 2,700 tons of aid, including food parcels containing ready-to-eat meals, water, food packages, flour, clothing, hygiene kits, shelter materials such as tents, sleeping bags and blankets, medical equipment and baby supplies. The aid agency is coordinating with the Egyptian Red Crescent and the Palestinian Red Crescent to ensure that the aid trucks reach recipients in need quickly.
Türkiye, which has denounced Israel for its offensive in densely populated Gaza and called for an immediate cease-fire, has sent tens of thousands of humanitarian aid items there since the start of the conflict last year.
Türkiye has been a vocal critic of Israel since the start of the conflict and a staunch defender of the Palestinian cause.
Israeli’s blockade of the Palestinian enclave often hinders aid efforts. Türkiye collaborates with Egypt, which hosts the only feasible land crossing with Gaza to deliver aid.
Türkiye mobilized for humanitarian aid for Gaza after the start of the conflict. Its disaster management agency, the Health Ministry, the Turkish Red Crescent and members of society have organized campaigns to help Palestinians fleeing Israel’s atrocities. So far, 14 planes and 10 vessels carrying aid have been dispatched to Palestine from Türkiye. The amount of aid from Türkiye to Gaza, including the air bridges and acquisition of aid from local sources in the region, has reached more than 52,000 tons.
