By Esra Tekin
ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye is the country that provides the most humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, the country’s foreign ministry spokesman said Tuesday.
"Türkiye, which provides 30% of the humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, is the country that provides the most assistance to Palestinians there,” Oncu Keceli wrote on X.
Türkiye’s ship carrying 1,908 tons of humanitarian aid departed Tuesday from Mersin Port, said Keceli, adding that another ship carrying 5,066 tons of aid docked at Egypt's Port of al-Arish.
Keceli said total humanitarian aid to Gaza exceeded 52,000 tons.
Israel has pounded Gaza in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas which killed less than 1,200 people.
More than 34,800 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and 78,400 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Nearly seven months into the Israeli onslaught, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.