Türkiye sustains lifeline to starving Gaza through NGOs

Two years after Israel launched attacks, leaving the Palestinian enclave, Gaza, in ruins, and its people battling death, either from assaults or famine amid the Zionist regime’s blockade, Turkish nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) continue to strive to address the food crisis facing the strip.

Türkiye is a major supporter of Palestinians who are deprived of aid amid the inaction of most of the international community. Along with the government, charities in the country regularly deliver aid to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians, ranging from food and clothes to medicine and hygiene kits.

Food aid makes up the majority of the aid since Israel’s attacks began in October 2023.

On World Humanitarian Day, marked on Tuesday, Gaza remains at imminent risk of more deaths, while the death toll in Israel’s attacks since 2023 has surpassed 62,000. U.N.-backed experts say that the famine is unfolding in the Palestinian territory, while there are also dire shortages of clean water and medicines. Yet aid groups say the flow of essential supplies remains painfully slow, despite the growing crisis.

Israel continues to deny entry for life-saving medical equipment, shelters and parts for water infrastructure, four U.N. officials, several truck drivers and an Egyptian Red Crescent volunteer told Agence France-Presse (AFP). They said the supplies were often rejected for being “dual-use,” meaning they could be put to military use, or for minor packaging flaws.

A WHO official said that at most 50 trucks enter Gaza every day, while Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said only 130-150 trucks cross daily, sometimes 200, about a third of what is needed. “This is engineered hunger,” Abdelatty said on Monday, adding that over 5,000 trucks were waiting at the border.

The Turkish Red Crescent, one of the oldest charities in the country, continues to lead the humanitarian efforts. It has dispatched five “Goodness Ships” for Palestinians so far, carrying more than 15,000 tons of food, hygiene kits, medical equipment and aid for sheltering the displaced. During the Muslim festival of sacrifice, or Eid al-Adha, the charity collected meat donations from around the country and converted them into canned food for Palestinians. Through the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) of Türkiye and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), it delivered more than 52,000 cans of meat to Gaza. The donations arrived in the enclave in January through Egypt. Another shipment of some 261 tons of food awaits entry to Gaza after they were dispatched to the region as part of the 15th aid vessel for Palestinians since 2023, organized by the Turkish government and charities. The Turkish Red Crescent also ran a soup kitchen serving the southern and northern parts of Gaza and delivered 15,000 meals daily. So far, more than 6.8 million meals have been served to Palestinians, and last week, in cooperation with Palestinian Red Crescent and local charities, the Turkish Red Crescent increased the capacity to 21,000 meals daily.

The charity has also distributed 400 tons of humanitarian aid in Gaza, including food packages, hygiene kits and blankets, sourced through its local teams. Since Nov. 29, 2024, the Turkish Red Crescent has also delivered 20 tons of drinking water daily, 20 liters per family, reaching a total of 1.66 million liters. Water distribution will resume once conditions permit. Of the 5,000 food parcels supplied via Jordan, 2,500 were delivered to those in need in Gaza on Feb. 27. Efforts are ongoing to deliver the remaining 2,500 parcels. Due to aid entry restrictions into Gaza, 165 Turkish trucks carrying part of 405 trucks’ worth of aid stored in the Egyptian Red Crescent’s warehouses were delivered to Gaza as of Aug. 3. Sorting of the remaining supplies is still underway.

The Lighthouse Association distributes hot meals to 15,000 people daily through 10 soup kitchens across northern, central and southern Gaza. These meals are delivered by volunteers and local personnel to camps and families in need. The group also provides 15 tons of clean water per day and maintains two active water wells in the region. At Al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza, the organization serves three meals a day to patients and their caregivers.

The Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) has distributed more than 35 million hot meals since the beginning of the Israeli attacks. The group has also delivered more than 127 million loaves of bread and 1.2 million assorted food items such as canned goods and pasta. It has provided 206,521 food parcels, 129,789 sacks of flour and 17,848 vegetable packages. Charity also supplied 2,567 water tankers.

The Cansuyu Association has sent 102 trucks of aid, including food parcels, flour, rice, cooking oil, legumes, pasta and canned goods. Their relief efforts have reached Gaza with 3,000 food parcels, 285,000 bread packages, 750 vegetable boxes, 500 cooking gas canisters, 349,300 hot meals and 1,806 water tankers. In northern Gaza, the group provided five water tankers and hot meals for 500 people through its partner organization, and continued similar efforts in the south. The organization has delivered 1,273 tons of food and has 20 additional aid trucks waiting at border crossings.

The Federation of Associations Valuing Humanity (IDDEF) has delivered 4 million hot meals, 200,000 food, produce and hygiene parcels, 350,000 bread packages and 320 tons of flour since the start of the attacks. From warehouses in Egypt and Jordan, 204 aid trucks were sent, along with eight trucks of supplies loaded onto three aid ships organized by the AFAD. As part of its 2025 campaign for Eid Al-Adha, the IDDEF sent canned meat for 300,000 people and has another 264,600 cans of meat ready for shipment in Jordan. The group continues to distribute 3,000 hot meals and 50,000 loaves of bread daily, and provides 25,000 liters of clean water per day from active local water purification plants.

The Sadakataşı Association has supported around 2 million people with health, food, shelter and emergency aid since the attacks began. The group has supplied six ambulances, tens of thousands of boxes of medicine, and established two tent cities housing 1,000 families and two tent schools serving 400 students. It has distributed food parcels to 22,000 families, flour to 4,000 families, bread to 110,000 families, and supplied 475 water tankers and two trucks of drinking water. The organization also provided hot meals to 1.2 million people, 7 tons of fuel to hospitals, and continues distributing clothing, blankets and tents.