The prominent charity, the Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilai), has been spearheading Turkish efforts to meet the needs of thousands of Palestinians suffocated by the Israeli blockade and relentless attacks, including setting up soup kitchens inside the enclave to provide daily meals to displaced people.
The soup kitchen feeds 10,000 people in the Gaza Strip every day. Until May 6, it was feeding Palestinians living in Rafah, near the Egyptian border, where refugees had gathered to escape Tel Aviv attacks. But Israeli plans to attack the residents forced the Red Crescent to close the soup kitchen. It has since reopened in Deir al-Bala, in the center of the Gaza Strip. Turkish Red Crescent officials say they will continue to deliver food to Gaza residents at risk of starvation.
The charity is also organizing a relief campaign for Gaza in time for the approaching Qurban Bayram (Eid al-Adha), an Islamic holiday when believers slaughter animals and give the meat to those in need. Every year, the Red Crescent collects meat donations for each Bayram and sends canned meat to impoverished areas around the world, from Africa to Asia. Under the scheme, donors transfer funds to the charity to purchase a sacrificial animal (usually a cow or sheep), which is then slaughtered according to Islamic rules in the country where the campaign is held. Previously, fresh meat was delivered to poor families, but in recent years the Red Crescent has switched to distributing canned meat, delivering food throughout the year instead of just for a week.
The Turkish Red Crescent plans to deliver around 400,000 cans of sacrificial animal meat donated in Turkey to Gaza in one of its “goodwill ships.” The charity sent its 10th ship to Gaza in April since the new conflict began on October 7, 2023. The charity is also working with the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) to provide water to the people of Gaza via Egypt. The charity has signed a contract with an Egyptian water facility to deliver seven tons of water to Gaza every day. Meanwhile, the charity plans to deliver aid to Gaza via Jordan and is preparing to distribute the supplies with 24 trucks.
The United Nations has long complained that it is preventing aid from reaching and being distributed in the Gaza Strip, six months after Israel launched its air and ground offensive in the area.
The Turkish Red Crescent delivered its largest aid shipment this year to the besieged Gaza Strip in early March to coincide with the holy month of Ramadan, delivering more than 2,700 tons of supplies, including prepared meals, water, food packs, flour, clothing, hygiene kits, shelter materials like tents, sleeping bags and blankets, medical equipment and baby products. The relief agency is working with the Egyptian Red Crescent and the Palestinian Red Crescent to ensure that aid trucks quickly reach those in need.
Turkey has condemned Israeli attacks on the densely populated Gaza Strip and called for an immediate ceasefire, and has sent tens of thousands of humanitarian aid items to the Strip since the conflict began last year.
Turkey has been a vocal critic of Israel and a staunch defender of the Palestinian cause since the conflict began.
An Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territories often hinders aid efforts, and Turkey works with Egypt, which holds the only land crossing into Gaza, to deliver aid.
Turkey was mobilized to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza after the conflict began. Disaster Management Authority, Ministry of Health, Turkish Red Crescent and members of society organized a campaign to help Palestinians fleeing Israeli atrocities. So far, 14 planes and 10 ships loaded with aid have been sent from Turkey to Palestine. The volume of aid sent from Turkey to Gaza, including through air bridges and on-the-ground deliveries in the region, has reached more than 52,000 tons.
