Turkish disaster relief team still awaiting Israeli go-ahead to enter Gaza

ANKARA, Turkey: A Turkish disaster response team is still waiting by the Gaza border for Israeli approval to enter the Palestinian territory to help with search and rescue operations, a defence ministry source said Thursday.

The 81-member team from the AFAD disaster management left for the Gaza border just over a week ago with specialised search-and-rescue tools, including life-detection devices and trained search dogs.

But they need Israel’s approval to enter Gaza, which has been largely reduced to rubble after two years of Israeli bombardments.

“AFAD is still waiting at the border. Israel still did not issue any authorisation” for the team to enter, the source said.

Israel’s relationship with Turkey has nosedived since the Gaza war started in October 2023 with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adamantly opposed to a Turkish presence in Gaza.

Ankara is hoping its role as a guarantor of the recent Gaza ceasefire will give it some leverage and allow it to participate in the international peacekeeping mission currently being put together.

The ministry source said efforts to establish a task force were ongoing, with Turkey “still in contact” with counterparts over its participation, and its military “ready” to get involved if needed.

“Turkey is one of the architects of the ceasefire and signed the agreement. We did all our preparations and are waiting,” the source said.

Earlier this week, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said only countries that were “at least fair” to Israel could send troops to secure Gaza, ruling out Turkey’s participation over its “hostile statements” and “diplomatic and economic measures” against Israel.

“It is not reasonable for us to let their armed forces enter (the) Gaza Strip, and we will not agree to that,” he added.