ANKARA: Turkiye has sent 81 disaster relief experts to the Gaza Strip, some of whom will help with finding the remains of 19 hostages still unaccounted for, a defense ministry source said Thursday.
“There is already a team of 81 AFAD staff there,” the source said, referring to Turkiye’s disaster relief agency, indicating that “one team will be in charge of seeking and finding the bodies.”
Turkiye’s Disaster Management Authority (AFAD) is a government agency that operates under the interior ministry.
“The tasks are known: transmitting humanitarian aid, finding corpses and protecting the ceasefire. But there is no clear information on how to handle these tasks,” the ministry source said.
Asked whether Turkish military forces could get involved, the source said it would be “more the task of civilian entities like AFAD” but in theory the military could help out if needed.
AFAD rescue workers are accustomed to operating in difficult terrain and have responded to numerous earthquakes that have shaken Turkiye, including the one in February 2023 in the southeast of the country, which killed at least 53,000 people.
AFAD says it has carried out rescue and humanitarian aid missions in more than 50 countries on five continents in recent years, including Somalia, the Palestinian territories, Ecuador, the Philippines, Nepal, Yemen, Mozambique, and Chad.
Turkish experts to help find hostage bodies in Gaza: ministry sources
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Turkish experts to help find hostage bodies in Gaza: ministry sources
- “There is already a team of 81 AFAD staff there,” the source said
- “The tasks are known: transmitting humanitarian aid, finding corpses and protecting the ceasefire”
UN, aid groups warn Gaza operations at risk from Israel impediments
- Dozens of international aid groups face de-registration by December 31, which then means they have to close operations within 60 days
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations and aid groups warned on Wednesday that humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territories, particularly Gaza, were at risk of collapse if Israel does not lift impediments that include a “vague, arbitrary, and highly politicized” registration process.
Dozens of international aid groups face de-registration by December 31, which then means they have to close operations within 60 days, said the UN and more than 200 local and international aid groups in a joint statement.
“The deregistration of INGOs (international aid groups) in Gaza will have a catastrophic impact on access to essential and basic services,” the statement read.
“INGOs run or support the majority of field hospitals, primary health care centers, emergency shelter responses, water and sanitation services, nutrition stabilization centers for children with acute malnutrition, and critical mine action activities,” it said.
SUPPLIES LEFT OUT OF REACH: GROUPS
While some international aid groups have been registered under the system that was introduced in March, “the ongoing re-registration process and other arbitrary hindrances to humanitarian operations have left millions of dollars’ worth of essential supplies — including food, medical items, hygiene materials, and shelter assistance — stuck outside of Gaza and unable to reach people in need,” the statement read.
Israel’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the statement. Under the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year-old war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas began on October 10. Hamas released hostages, Israel freed detained Palestinians and more aid began flowing into the enclave where a global hunger monitor said in August famine had taken hold.
However, Hamas says fewer aid trucks are entering Gaza than was agreed. Aid agencies say there is far less aid than required, and that Israel is blocking many necessary items from coming in. Israel denies that and says it is abiding by its obligations under the truce.
“The UN will not be able to compensate for the collapse of INGOs’ operations if they are de-registered, and the humanitarian response cannot be replaced by alternative actors operating outside established humanitarian principles,” the statement by the UN and aid groups said.
The statement stressed “humanitarian access is not optional, conditional or political,” adding: “Lifesaving assistance must be allowed to reach Palestinians without further delay.”
