The Turkish disaster management authority said Thursday that a fourth ship loaded with over 2,300 tons of humanitarian aid for Gaza has set sail from Türkiye for Egypt.
The Bestekar, carrying 2,334 tons of aid supplies in 109 trailers, took off from the Mersin International Port on the northeastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea in southern Türkiye.
The shipment was prepared with the help of 29 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and coordinated by the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and Mersin Governorship.
The aid includes various materials such as flour, pasta, water, tomato paste, sugar, tents, blankets and hygiene materials.
"Palestine is our brother country. We are always standing by them," Cenk Yıldız, the head of AFAD's Mersin province, told Anadolu Agency (AA).
The ship will dock at Egypt's Al-Arish Port before delivering aid to Palestine.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 22,313 Palestinians, mostly women and children and injuring 57,296 others, according to Gaza's health authorities.
Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7.
The U.N. estimates 1.9 million of Gaza's 2.4 million people have been displaced. Its humanitarian agency, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), says more than a third of households have reported severe hunger, while more than 90% are "going to bed hungry."
Aid distribution has largely stopped in most of Gaza, except on a limited basis in the Rafah area, according to the U.N.
As Türkiye fights on the diplomatic front to stop Israeli aggression, nongovernmental organizations deliver much-needed assistance to thousands in Gaza.
The Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) has reached out to more than 598,000 people since Oct. 7, delivering humanitarian aid worth more than TL 75 million (more than $2.5 million). Between Oct. 21 and Dec. 5 alone, local media reported that more than 3,000 trucks loaded with aid were sent by the charity.
Türkiye's Diyanet Foundation, affiliated with the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), has also been active in Gaza. It supplied meals for the staff of Al-Shifa Hospital, which operated under worsening conditions amid Israel's attacks.
In refugee camps in Jabalia, the charity delivered 2,000 meals daily.
The foundation also donated medical equipment worth $100,000 to hospitals and cash aid amounting to $51,000 for the purchase of fuel to generate the electricity needed for the operation of hospitals.
The Deniz Feneri Association, based in Istanbul, utilized its warehouses where aid was stored before reaching the Gazans. It delivered aid to some 250,000 Palestinians.
The Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) supplied 5,862 food packages, 2,300 blankets, 500 pieces of clothing and 10,786 loaves of bread for Palestinians in need. The charity also provided 485 liters of fuel for ambulances.
At Al-Shifa Hospital, the IHH delivered 1,106 hygiene kits and medicine. Overall, it aided more than 354,000 people.
The Sadakataşı Association delivered meals to 2,000 people in Khan Younis, while the Cansuyu Association also delivered meals in Gaza and sent truckloads of food packages.
Türkiye also works for the welfare of Palestinian patients trapped in Gaza, including cancer patients and those injured in the Israeli attacks. Since Nov. 16, as many as 182 patients and wounded people, along with 147 companions, have been moved from Gaza to Türkiye and admitted to hospitals.
In the meantime, authorities are working with Israeli and Egyptian authorities to set up a field hospital near the Rafah crossing.
