The Turkish Red Crescent mission in Palestine said on Thursday that part of the sacrificial meat that was transported from Turkey to Egypt via the "Goodwill Ship 17" was sent to Deir al-Balah, where it is cooked and distributed to Palestinians in the area, noting that the kitchen is operating at a production capacity of up to 21,000 meals per day.
Since October 8, 2023, Turkey has sent 14 cargo planes and 16 aid ships to Gaza, while the "Goodwill Ship 17" marked a new phase in efforts to support Palestinians after the ceasefire, following a two-year Israeli war of extermination that resulted in a suffocating blockade of the Strip.
In a related context, the Turkish Religious Foundation sent 20 new trucks of humanitarian aid to the city of Arish in northeastern Egypt in preparation for their entry into the Gaza Strip, according to Anadolu Agency.
The trucks departed from the city of 10th of Ramadan near Cairo, in the presence of the Director General of the Waqf, Izani Turan, the Deputy Head of Turkish Religious Affairs, Hussein Hazler, the Turkish Ambassador to Cairo, Saleh Mutlu Sen, and the Coordinator of Turkish Aid to Palestine, Ambassador Muhammad Gulluoglu.
The trucks are carrying food and hygiene supplies as part of a larger convoy of 50 trucks being sent in stages. Turan explained that the entire world has witnessed a "humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza as a result of Israeli aggression," emphasizing that Turkey, both government and people, will continue to stand with the Palestinians.
For his part, Haderler said that the disaster in Gaza "has reached unimaginable levels," stressing that children and innocent people are the most affected, while Ambassador Saleh Mutlu Shen indicated that his country is making strenuous efforts in cooperation with Egypt and international partners to deliver aid and achieve a permanent ceasefire.
Gulluoglu warned that the approach of winter would further worsen the humanitarian situation, calling for an acceleration of reconstruction efforts and treatment for the wounded in the sector.
Despite the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel coming into effect on October 10, Israel has allowed only 986 aid trucks to enter so far, according to the government media office in Gaza, while the sector needs about 600 trucks a day to cover the needs of its more than two million residents.
On October 10, the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel came into effect, as part of a phased plan developed by US President Donald Trump.
Despite violations of the agreement by Tel Aviv, it ended a genocide that Israel began with American support on October 7, 2023 , and which lasted for two years, including killing, starvation, destruction and forced displacement, ignoring all international appeals and orders from the International Court of Justice to stop it.
This genocide left 68,643 Palestinian martyrs and 170,655 wounded, most of them children and women, with reconstruction costs estimated by the United Nations at about $70 billion.
