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Türkiye’s 17th “Goodness Ship,” carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza, arrived Friday at Egypt’s Al Arish Port after departing from Mersin in southern Türkiye, Turkish authorities said.
Loaded with around 900 tons of humanitarian supplies, the vessel departed Tuesday from Mersin International Port to deliver food and essential goods to civilians in Gaza.
The shipment, organized under the coordination of Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and in cooperation with the Egyptian Red Crescent, included contributions from 17 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The aid will be transported from Al Arish to Gaza through the Karem Abu Salem border crossing, the nearest entry point to the enclave.
The cargo includes ready-to-eat meals, canned foods, and baby formula aimed at addressing urgent needs in Gaza, where shortages persist despite the recently established cease-fire.
Since the start of Israel’s attacks on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, Türkiye has delivered humanitarian assistance via 16 ships and 14 aircraft under AFAD’s coordination.
A cease-fire was reached last week under U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan, which aims to end the war that has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and left much of Gaza in ruins.
Türkiye has appointed Ambassador Mehmet Gulluoglu as its humanitarian aid coordinator for Palestine to oversee and streamline the country’s humanitarian operations in Gaza, diplomatic sources said Thursday.
Gulluoglu and his team arrived in Gaza on Wednesday. His mission includes coordinating Türkiye’s aid efforts on the ground, maintaining cooperation with local authorities, U.N. agencies, and international partners, and facilitating the reconstruction and establishment of temporary shelters for displaced civilians.
The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) said Friday it is delivering about 560 tons of food daily to Gaza since the cease-fire took effect on Oct. 11, but warned the amount remains far below what is needed to meet urgent needs.
“The cease-fire has opened a narrow window of opportunity, and WFP is moving very quickly to scale up food assistance and reach families who have faced months of blockade, displacement, and hunger,” WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told reporters in Geneva.
Between Oct. 11 and 15, roughly 2,800 tons of food supplies were delivered by 230 trucks, Etefa said. Two additional convoys entered Thursday through Kerem Shalom, carrying wheat flour and nutritional supplements.
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Nine bakeries in Gaza are now producing more than 100,000 bundles of bread daily, each weighing two kilograms and feeding about half a million people. WFP aims to increase that number to 30 bakeries across the enclave.
Etefa said the agency has pre-positioned nearly 60,000 tons of food across Egypt, Jordan, and Israel to sustain deliveries if the cease-fire holds.
According to U.N. OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke, citing Israeli data provided to mediators, 950 trucks entered Gaza on Thursday, including eight carrying fuel and three carrying gas — 807 through Kerem Shalom and 143 via Kissufim. The previous day, 716 trucks crossed, 16 of them carrying fuel and gas.
The shipments include aid sent through U.N. agencies, bilateral donations, and commercial imports, with roughly one-third managed under U.N. coordination, Laerke said.
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