Ship carrying some 1,900 tons of humanitarian aid for Gaza to set sail from Türkiye

By Huseyin Cem Dagistanli

A ship carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip is scheduled to set sail from southern Türkiye on Wednesday.

A total of 1,900 tons of humanitarian aid materials consisting of food, health, hygiene, and shelter supplies were loaded onto the "Türkiye-Qatar Gaza Goodness Ship," at Mersin International Port under the guidance of the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the state-run organization said in a statement.

After the completion of preparations at Mersin International Port, the ship will depart at 3:00 p.m. with a ceremony and is expected to arrive at Al-Arish Port in Egypt, the nearest region to Gaza, nearly 40 hours later.

So far, a total of 52,016 tons of various humanitarian aid materials have been delivered to Gaza by 13 aircraft and 10 ships through the cooperation of AFAD, the Health Ministry, the Directorate of Foundations, the Turkish Red Crescent, and non-governmental organizations.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas which killed about 1,200 people. Nearly 34,800 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and 78,100 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Seven months into the Israeli war, 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 stands 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.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz