Türkiye dispatches a ship full of medical humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza

A ship carrying life-saving humanitarian aid for Palestinians in the besieged Gaza from Türkiye left from the Aegean province of Izmir.

Medical supplies and ambulances were loaded onto the cargo ship, which anchored at Izmir’s Alsancak Port late on Thursday.

After the loading was completed, the ship left port to head to Al Arish, Egypt, close to Egypt’s Rafah border crossing into the embattled enclave, early Friday.

Nearly 500 tons of aid equipment, including medicine, medical devices, eight field hospitals, 20 ambulances, and medical consumables, will be delivered to Gaza through Egypt, as previously announced by Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

Already hit by a 16-year Israeli blockade, since the start of the current conflict over a month ago, Gaza has been cut off from water, electricity, and fuel supplies, with many hospitals having to shut down as a result.

This situation makes aid deliveries from countries like Türkiye a critical lifeline to Gaza, which has been under relentless attack by Israel since October 7, in the wake of an attack by Hamas on Israel.

Bombing Al Shifa hospital

A World Health Organization spokesperson has said that Al Shifa hospital had been "coming under bombardment", adding that 20 hospitals in Gaza were now out of action entirely.

Earlier, Palestinian government in Gaza said an Israeli strike on the territory's largest hospital killed 13 people.

"Thirteen martyrs and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on Al Shifa compound today" in central Gaza City, a government statement said.

Asked about the strike on the hospital courtyard, WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris said: "I haven't got the detail on Al Shifa but we do know they are coming under bombardment".

Israel's continuous bombing of the besieged city

In a statement on Friday, the media office in Gaza said some 40,000 house units in the besieged enclave were completely destroyed by the Israeli army.

It also said around 32,000 tonnes of explosives were dropped on Gaza since the start of the Israeli assault on Gaza on October 7.

The estimated preliminary losses in the housing sector and infrastructure are estimated to be $2 billion each, the government media office said.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7.

Over 10,500 Palestinians, including 4,324 children and 2,823 women, have been killed since the recent fighting started. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.