Türkiye-Israel trade volume drops amid Gaza invasion — report

The trade volume between Türkiye and Israel has declined significantly since Israel's invasion of Gaza began last year, data from the Turkish Trade Ministry suggests.

From October 7 to March 20 this year, the total Türkiye-Israel trade volume fell by nearly 33 percent, according to information compiled by the Anadolu news agency from sources in the ministry.

Meanwhile, Türkiye's exports to Israel fell 30 percent, while its imports decreased by 43.4 percent.

Turkish nationals and companies have been gradually cancelling sales and orders with Israel, while trade is mostly with private firms, including some international ones, rather than state enterprises.

Goods sent from Türkiye to Palestine pass through Israel and its customs gates due to Palestine's lack of its own customs facilities.

'Via Israel'

Goods destined for Palestine are required to be labelled for Israel or include the phrase "via Israel."

In addition, Israel does not recognise legal relations between Palestine and third countries, while it refuses to allow commercial transactions through the Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt.

As a result, trade between third countries and Palestine is logged overwhelmingly as trade with Israel in data reflected in national statistics.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since a cross-border attack in early last October by the Palestinian group Hamas, which killed less than 1,200 people.

Nearly 33,200 Palestinians have since been killed and almost 75,900 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85 percent of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60 percent of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which last week asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.