By Janet Ekstract ISTANBUL- On Sunday morning, a Turkish presidential aircraft loaded with medicine and medical supplies left Ankara for Egypt. A team of 20 expert healthcare professionals were also accompanying the supplies. The team includes doctors who plan to conduct feasibility studies for field hospitals to be built at Egypt’s El-Arish Airport in the Sinai Peninsula and the Rafah border crossing, in cooperation with the Egyptian Health Ministry. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca commented on X (former Twitter): “Our team will also carry out the feasibility studies of our field hospitals to be established at El=Arish Airport and Rafah Border Gate within the framework of the plans made with the Egyptian Ministry of Health. Simultaneously with these activities, it is planned to send the medicines, medical consumables and medical devices in the list of needs submitted by the Egyptian Ministry of Health to El-Arish Airport with our three cargo planes. In addition, after the necessary coordination is completed, field hospitals and ambulances are planned to be shipped to the region by ship.”
Since Israel has declared a complete siege on Gaza. Logistics are tricky so ships need to be utilized. Earlier on Sunday, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out numerous airstrikes hitting a number of mosques and killing over 50 people at the same time. Turkish officials have been making ongoing diplomatic efforts to get Israel to agree to a humanitarian ceasefire. So far, world leaders, prominent Jewish organizations and hundreds of Americans in the U.S. have been protesting Israel’s relentless bombing of Gaza. The ongoing airstrikes by Israel are being labeled a war crime especially since Israel refuses to allow water, electricity or gas lines to be open in Gaza. Meanwhile, U.S. President Biden had cautioned Israeli leadership on making sure they know what their end goal is and not to harm civilians. A peace conference held in Cairo several days ago was not forthcoming with a resolution for the conflict though leaders mutually agreed to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. But as one leader pointed out, without Israeli participation, no such plan would have any hope of being implemented. As the airstrikes continue unabated, the hatred and hopelessness of Jews, Arabs and Palestinians alike is a raw sore that allowed to fester, could burst
