Türkiye accuses Israel of holding Turkish aid trucks for weeks at Gaza crossings, including baby formula and shelter equipment
Türkiye accused Israel of obstructing Turkish humanitarian shipments to Gaza — including baby formula, tent poles, container equipment and electricity generators — by holding consignments at border crossings for weeks of inspection on "dual-use" security grounds, according to diplomatic and aid-organisation sources cited by Daily Sabah. The same sources said Turkish-flagged convoys face disproportionate inspections because Türkiye is now the single largest aid provider to the enclave, with more than 100,000 tons delivered. The United Nations and international aid organisations cited in the report continued to warn that resulting shelter and food shortages amount to using starvation as a weapon of war.
Türkiye said Israel is systematically obstructing its humanitarian shipments to Gaza by holding trucks at border crossings under what Israeli officials describe as "dual-use" security inspections, Daily Sabah reported on Tuesday, citing diplomatic and international aid-organisation sources. According to those sources, Israeli authorities subject incoming shipments to weeks of inspection on the argument that goods could fall into the hands of Hamas, an approach Turkish and aid-group sources characterise as deliberate.
The sources say Türkiye — now the largest single aid provider to Gaza, with more than 100,000 tons delivered — faces disproportionate scrutiny because of the visibility of its aid pipeline. Daily Sabah quoted them as saying that Israel applies additional inspections to trucks carrying a Turkish flag and to any Turkish-origin aid arriving at the crossings, with the aim of "lower[ing] the visibility of aid from Türkiye".
Among the items Israeli authorities are reported to be blocking or delaying are baby formula and basic shelter materials, including tent poles, container equipment and electricity generators. Israeli officials classify those items as "dual-use" — potentially usable for military purposes. The Daily Sabah report says the result is that families displaced by the war are forced to sleep without cover, and that essential food supplies are being held back.
The United Nations and international aid organisations cited in the report continue to warn that the shelter crisis has reached what they describe as a "genocide" level and that blocking baby formula and other essentials amounts to using starvation as a weapon of war. The piece is published by Daily Sabah and authored by Resul Ekrem Şahan; the article does not include a direct on-record response from Israeli authorities beyond the "dual-use" framing attributed to them.