Turkey will send another ship to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza before the Feast of Sacrifice holiday that will occur in September, a senior government official has vowed.
“Our prime minister has instructed the deputy prime minister responsible for [the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority] AFAD. We will prepare another ship before the Feast of Sacrifice to deliver food, medicine, diapers and hygienic equipment. Gaza has none of these things,” Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak told reporters on July 14.
Turkey shipped more than 10 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza before the Eid al-Fitr holiday, immediately after it signed a deal with Israel that allows the Turkish government to have access to the enclave. The deal ended a six-year old rift between the two sides over the Mavi Marmara incident in which Israeli commandos killed 10 Turkish nationals on board of a Gaza-bound vessel.
The aid Turkey plans to send will be enough for around three months, Kaynak said, stressing that Gaza particularly needs infrastructure and construction materials.
Turkey’s first delivery included 120,000 pieces of children’s clothing, 50,000 shoes, toys, drugs and food, Kaynak said, while praising the speed of the Israeli state in unloading the cargo for delivery to the people of Gaza.
Meanwhile, the deputy prime minister also said Turkey plans to fully complete the construction of a hospital and housing project for 320 homes in Gaza by the end of this year. He added that work on building an industrial zone in the Erez region of Gaza has been also kicked off by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB). |