Ship carrying over 5,000 tonnes of aid for Gaza sets sail from Türkiye

A ship carrying humanitarian aid destined for Gaza has set sail from southern Türkiye for the Palestinian enclave.

A total of 5,066 tons of aid, including food, baby care products, sleeping bags, and gluten-free goods, were loaded onto the ship at Mersin International Port under the guidance of the Turkish Red Crescent.

Speaking on Sunday at the farewell ceremony for the "11th Goodness Ship," Turkish Red Crescent Deputy Chairman Ramazan Saygili said the organisation would send another vessel to Gaza in the future.

"We are sending the largest tonnage ship we have ever sailed ... Türkiye's aid operation will continue until the last Gazan returns to their home and finds peace," Saygili added.

The ship is expected to be at sea for about two days as it sails to Egypt's Al Arish Port, from which its contents will be transferred to nearby Gaza.

Nearly 34,700 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and 78,000 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Nearly seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85 percent of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.