Ninth Turkish aid ship for Gaza arrives in Egypt

The ninth Goodness Ship, which left Türkiye with a record of 3,774 tonnes of humanitarian aid supplies for the millions in need in Palestine's Gaza, has arrived at Egypt's al Arish Port.

After leaving from the southern Turkish port of Mersin on Tuesday, the ship, loaded with food, baby supplies, sleeping bags, and flour provided by the Turkish Red Crescent, reached al Arish after a 55-hour sea voyage.

After spending the night offshore, the ship entered the port in the morning accompanied by a pilot captain.

The aid materials will be unloaded at the port and transported to the Rafah border crossing into Gaza by truck.

After customs procedures, the materials will be handed over to the Palestinian Red Crescent, which will then distribute the aid to those in need in Gaza.

Nearly 40,000 tonnes of various humanitarian aid supplies have so far been delivered to Gaza in 13 planes and eight ships in cooperation with the Turkish Red Crescent and the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, or AFAD.

Record tonnes of aid material

Welcoming the ship, Turkish Ambassador to Cairo Salih Mutlu Sen told reporters that cargo can be loaded and unloaded from the vessel rapidly.

Emphasising the mass of aid carried, Sen said: "Our ninth ship that arrived here broke a record, carrying 3,774 tonnes of aid material."

"This is such a big number that when I was talking to my US, British, and German ambassador colleagues in Cairo, they did a double-take when I said 'a ship of 3,000 tonnes is coming here and I’ll go to welcome it.' They weren’t sure because what they’re used to is usually 30-50 tonnes, which is how much an airplane can carry," he added.

Stating that they are coordinating with the Turkish Red Crescent and AFAD, he underlined that Türkiye aims to send at least one humanitarian aid ship to Gaza every two weeks in light of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry's announcement on the number of trucks entering Gaza and the depletion of their stocks.

Stressing the importance of coordination in aid, Sen expressed Türkiye's hope that "our aid will continue to enter in the most effective and fastest way because at the moment, the number of trucks at the Rafah gate has reached 500, which is pretty good."

"We hope that the number of trucks will increase a little more and that we will send aid through, that the whole world will take Türkiye as an example, that they will compete in charity," he added.