Aid drops for Gaza ‘admirable but not enough’

TÜRKİYE said yesterday that the airdrop of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and a plan to deliver aid via a maritime route were admirable efforts but fell short of resolving the core problem.

NATO member Türkiye has been very critical of Israel for its attacks on Gaza that have killed over 31,000 people, mostly women and children, and backed steps to try its leadership at the World Court for genocide. It has repeatedly called for an immediate cease-fire, sent thousands of tons of aid and urged the West to exert pressure on Israel to allow increased aid flows to reach Gazans.

Earlier yesterday, Reuters reported that Washington may urge partners and allies to fund a privately run operation to send aid by sea to Gaza. Along with Jordan and others, it also began dropping aid into the enclave by air this month.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Öncü Keçeli told reporters at a briefing in Ankara that Türkiye had sent 9,000 tons of medical equipment and aid for infants, as well as many parachutes to Jordan for the airdrops, but added these were not enough to alleviate the struggle of Gazans.

“We view the United States searching for a solution to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza as the result of the pressure imposed on it by the global public. On the other hand, we say that the real source of the problem needs to be solved,” he said.

“Attempting to send aid via air or sea is admirable in a way. But focusing on such palliative solutions rather than focusing on the real issue seems, to us, like seeking to escape from the root of the issue,” he said, adding that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his delegation conveyed this to U.S. officials during talks in Washington last week.

Keçeli said sending aid by ground was easier, cheaper and more effective.

While welcoming the project, senior U.N. officials said it could not replace delivering humanitarian aid by land from Egypt and Jordan.

Aid agencies say such efforts can provide only limited relief as long as most land crossings to the coastal Palestinian enclave are completely sealed off by Israel.

Some Gazans also expressed skepticism about aid deliveries by sea, worrying that they could become an alternative to overland shipments.

There have been chaotic scenes and deadly incidents at aid distributions as desperately hungry people scramble for food. The Israeli army also fired into a crowd of the hungry in Gaza last week, killing 118 civilians in an incident dubbed the Flour Massacre.

The U.N. has warned that widespread famine in the Gaza Strip is “almost inevitable” without urgent action. A formal conclusion that famine has arrived in the coastal enclave of 2.3 million people could come this week.

Over 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza, and over 72,600 others have been injured in Israel’s relentless indiscriminate attacks in revenge for a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 in which some 1,200 people were killed. Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Palestinian enclave’s access to food, clean water and medicine, pushing millions, particularly residents of northern Gaza, to the verge of starvation.

Türkiye has sent over 40,000 tons of aid, mostly food and water, to Gaza by air and sea to be delivered through the Rafah border crossing and has assured that deliveries will continue throughout Ramadan.

TALKS WITH IRAQ

Öncü also announced that senior officials from Türkiye and Iraq would meet in Baghdad today to discuss energy cooperation, security and defense matters.

Ties between the neighbors have been rocky in recent years as Ankara has ramped up cross-border operations against PKK terrorists based in northern Iraq’s mountainous regions. Iraq has said the operations violate its sovereignty, but Ankara says it must protect itself and has warned of a new incursion.

The two are also at odds over the resumption of oil exports from a crude oil pipeline running from Iraq through Türkiye. Ankara says the pipeline is ready to operate, but Baghdad has yet to resume its operations.

Keçeli said Foreign Minister Fidan, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, and İbrahim Kalın, head of Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT), would hold talks with their counterparts in Baghdad in a “security summit.”

“Developing a common understanding in counterterrorism and concrete steps that can be taken in that regard will be on the table,” Keçeli said. “The PKK being defined as a common security threat by Iraqi authorities is a sign that the desire to battle the PKK is developing in Iraq and we welcome this.”

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Türkiye, the U.S. and the European Union, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in its terrorist campaign.

Keçeli said the resumption of oil flows from the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline would be discussed during the meetings.

Türkiye halted flows on the pipeline, Iraq’s northern oil export route, after an arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce ordered Ankara to pay Baghdad damages for unauthorized exports between 2014 and 2018.

Ankara later started maintenance work on the pipeline, which contributes about 0.5% of global crude supply. The two countries agreed to wait until a maintenance assessment was complete to restart flows while still engaging in a legal battle over arbitration awards.

“We said last October that the flows could be on this pipeline and there are no issues for us. However, we understand the Iraqi side is not yet ready,” Keçeli said. “We want all the parties in Iraq to reach an agreement within the framework of mutual dialogue and understanding and for flows on this pipeline to resume as soon as possible.”

He said the officials would also discuss cooperation on gas and renewable energy, as well as a planned visit by President Tayyip Erdoğan to Baghdad, which is expected in the spring.

ANTI-TERRORISM WITH US

Keçeli further revealed Ankara and Washington agreed to hold regular technical talks on the fight against terrorist groups like PKK, YPG, Daesh and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which orchestrated the defeated July 2016 coup in Türkiye.

“We have clearly expressed to the U.S. our expectations regarding FETÖ and PKK/ YPG,” Keçeli said. “We told them it’s unacceptable for an ally to collaborate with terrorist groups that target our national security.”

YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, which occupies chunks of northern Syria close to the Turkish border. Washington claims it’s working with the YPG against Daesh in the region, but Ankara has consistently opposed U.S. backing for the YPG, arguing that it makes no sense to use a terrorist group to fight another.

“We told the U.S. their support to YPG is the biggest obstacle keeping Turkish-U.S. ties from further deepening,” Keçeli noted.

He said officials also discussed the problems in the F-16 and F-35 deals. While the F-16 program was greenlit this month at Congress, Washington excluded Türkiye from the F-36 program over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems and imposed a series of sanctions.

“We have conveyed to the U.S. the restrictions lifted,” Keçeli added.