Ship carrying aid to Gaza leaves Turkish port

Ankara sends second aid shipment to besieged Palestinian enclave after Turkish-Israeli deal to normalise ties.

A ship carrying aid to Gaza has departed from the Turkish city of Mersin and is on its way to the Israeli port of Ashdod, according to a senior Turkish official.

“This is the second major shipment of humanitarian aid to Gaza since an agreement was reached with the government of Israel to normalise relations,” the official, who asked to remain anonymous, told Al Jazeera on Saturday.

Turkey and Israel reached an agreement to normalise ties in late June ending a six-year rift that was sparked by an Israeli raid on a previous flotilla bound for Gaza in which 10 activists were killed in 2010.

“The vessel carries 100 wheelchairs, 1,000 bicycles, 100,000 backpacks and stationary kits, 300,000 pieces of clothing, 1,288 tonnes of flour, 170 tonnes of rice, 64 tonnes of sugar, 95 tonnes of vegetable oil and 350,000 diapers,” the official said.

“We expect the items to be distributed to the people of Gaza before the upcoming Islamic [Eid al-Adha] holiday. In addition to regular aid materials, we added presents for Palestinian children such as bicycles.”

The Eid holiday is expected to start on September 12. 

After the June deal between Israel and Turkey, a previous Turkish ship arrived in the port of Ashdod in early July. That aid was carried to Gaza by trucks, and the aid en route is expected to be delivered the same way.

H/t reader squodgy:

“Boycott ALL israeli goods.

We’ll see how the mainstream media cover this humanitarian attempt for the Gazans.”