Turkish aid agency continues food aid to Gaza

By Mehmet Alaca

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Turkish aid agency started providing 25 tons of aid consisting of basic food items to the Gaza Strip, which has been under intense attacks by Israel since Oct. 7, 2023.

As the humanitarian crisis worsens day by day in blockaded Gaza, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) continues its aid efforts during the holy month of Ramadan.

Since the outset of the conflict, TIKA has been providing assistance in the form of food, health, and shelter materials in the region. In observance of Ramadan, TIKA has commenced distributing food packages to 2,500 displaced families in the Gaza Strip.

The food packages, totaling approximately 25 tons and containing items such as cooking oil, rice, tomato paste, beans, hummus, lentils, pasta, canned meat, and fish, are being delivered to people in the Deir El-Balah, Rafah, and Az-Zawayda regions of the Gaza Strip.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 which killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 31,726 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in the enclave, and nearly 73,792 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60%of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. 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.

*Writing by Serdar Dincel from Istanbul