Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) President Fatma Meriç Yılmaz announced Thursday that a fifth humanitarian aid hub would be established in Istanbul as part of a project carried out with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Yılmaz and IFRC President Kate Forbes held a news conference at the Kızılay headquarters in the capital, Ankara, regarding the opening of the logistics center in Istanbul. Stating that the IFRC currently has four global logistics centers, Kızılay's chair said, "Critical work has been completed, and the signing will take place soon."
"This will provide us with greater opportunities to enhance our collaboration with the IFRC and to share better and utilize our logistical capabilities."
The humanitarian aid hub to be established at Istanbul Airport will be the fifth-largest logistics center in the world for the IFRC. The Istanbul Logistics Center Project aims to combine Istanbul's strategic location with the Kızılay's experience. The center aims to respond rapidly to any disasters that may occur in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Caucasus regions. It is planned to be built on a total area of 4,000 square meters (43,055 square feet) and will have a capacity of approximately 2,000 pallets.
The IFRC chief also visited Palestinians from Gaza on Thursday who are being hosted in Türkiye. Forbes, accompanied by Yılmaz, visited the Gazans, who were undergoing treatment at the Kızılay Martyr Serhat Önder Social Service Center.
Yılmaz said they had accommodated 12 children and 12 women from Gaza at the center, noting the children were getting better day by day.
She said they were working in coordination with national societies.
She also noted how people wake up to a new tragedy every day in Gaza.
"Today, another major attack took place, and over 100 people lost their lives. As humanitarian organizations, we are doing our best to ensure they have access to food and basic humanitarian needs," she said. "Our guests here are entrusted to us, and as long as they stay here, we will continue to treat them as family and move forward together."
"But they also have loved ones who are not safe back home, which saddens them. Therefore, we must call for lasting peace from here again," she said.
"As long as there is no lasting peace, everything we do will only be like a band-aid. It won't address the root cause. We feel sad when we hear their stories here, but at least those who can come here are in a safe place."
Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.
At least 30,035 Palestinians have since been killed and over 70,457 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza'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 U.N.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (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.
