Number of people to be evacuated from Gaza to Türkiye announced

Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yıldız gave a presentation on “Turkish Foreign Policy” at the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

Referring to the conflicts between Israel and Palestine, Yıldız said that he had contacts with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and their counterparts.

Stating that Turkey’s first shipment of in-kind aid to the Gaza Strip arrived in Egypt on October 13 and continued to arrive gradually, Yıldız had the following to say about the evacuation efforts from Gaza to Turkey:

“As of yesterday, approximately 700 people in the Gaza Strip were waiting to be evacuated to Turkey. Of them, 322 are citizens of the Republic of Turkey and 104 are citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. 214 Turkish citizens have Palestinian relatives; Among these are those close by marriage, cousin-nephew, etc. We have staff from 55 institutions, Anadolu Agency, TRT and the Ministry of Health. We are also making preparations for the treatment of the wounded in Gaza in a hospital to be established in our country or in the region. Of course, some countries have legitimate concerns that opening the Rafah border serves Israel’s plan to evacuate Gaza. For this reason, unfortunately, the passage through Gaza and the delivery of humanitarian aid are problematic at this time.” (AA)