More aid for Palestinians, 50 trucks arrive in Gaza
by Daily Sabah with AA
ISTANBULJul 08, 2016 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Daily Sabah with AA
Jul 08, 2016 12:00 am
Turkey's delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip continues at a fast pace as 50 trucks full of humanitarian aid arrived in the Palestinian territories yesterday, the third day of Ramadan Bayram, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
Trucks carrying the cargo from the vessel Lady Leyla, which is anchored at the Israeli port of Ashdod, entered Gaza through the Karm Abu Salem crossing controlled by Israel. Mounir al-Galban, the Palestinian official overseeing the Palestinian side of the crossing, told Anadolu Agency that the trucks brought 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid of basic staples such as flour, sugar, rice, clothes and shoes. The aid was handed to the Social Affairs Ministry of the Hamas government in Gaza. As an additional gesture, Israeli authorities allowed the transfer of fuel oil through the crossing into Gaza, which suffers from a dire energy crisis stemming from the Israeli blockade.
Lady Leyla became a symbol of Turkey's restoration of ties with Israel. As part of the Ship of Goodness Goes to Gaza aid campaign, it departed from the southern port of Mersin with a ceremony attended by ministers. The ship carried about 11 tons of humanitarian aid and anchored at Ashdod last Sunday. On Monday, four trucks carrying food and toys entered Gaza. The Hamas government's Social Affairs Ministry announced that 400 trucks carrying the aid would gradually enter Gaza in the coming weeks.
Turkey and Israel recently cemented a deal to restore their strained relations, and dispatching the aid vessel, Turkey's first step after the deal was a show to make clear that it has not turned its back on Palestinians despite the normalization of relations.
Apart from delivering humanitarian aid, Turkey will carry out projects to rebuild Gaza and improve the lives of thousands who suffered from Israel's attacks on Hamas. They include the construction of residential buildings and a 200-bed Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital.
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