UPDATES WITH ARRIVAL OF ANOTHER MILITARY AIRCRAFT TO EGYPT, CHANGES HEADLINE, SPOT, LEDE
By Alperen Aktas and Merve Berker
ISTANBUL / ANKARA (AA) – Another Turkish military aircraft full of medical supplies for Gazans has arrived in Egypt, local sources said on Monday.
The Turkish Air Force plane departed at around 12 noon, shortly after the first one, from the 11th Air Transport Main Base Command in the Turkish capital.
After being offloaded from the plane at the airport and onto trucks, the aid is set to go through the Rafah Border Crossing into Gaza.
Two more planes loaded with aid supplies are also expected to take off from Ankara on Monday.
Preparations are underway to lend a helping hand to people in Gaza, who are in dire need of care and support, Turkish authorities previously said.
"We continue to extend our helping hand to Gaza. We have begun loading aid packages, mostly containing medical supplies," the National Defense Ministry said earlier.
A Turkish presidential aircraft, loaded with medicines and medical supplies destined for the Gaza Strip, traveled from Ankara to Cairo, Egypt on Sunday. A group of 20 expert healthcare professionals were also on board the plane.
Israel has continued fierce bombardment of the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 offensive by Hamas, and is widely expected to launch a ground offensive.
A second convoy of relief trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Sunday, one day after 20 trucks entered the area, the first aid shipment since Israel imposed a complete siege. Both shipments entered from Egypt through the Rafah crossing, the sole route into Gaza not controlled by Israel.