Turkey pledges to meet Gaza’s humanitarian needs

Turkey has pledged to continue its support for the Palestinian people and to meet the humanitarian needs of those in the Gaza Strip.

The comments came during a press conference held by the Turkish Ambassador to the Palestinian Authority Mustafa Sarnic on Monday in Gaza on the side-lines of the launch of a $1.5 million health project which will be funded by Turkey in collaboration with the World Health Organization.

“Turkey is determined to maintain its efforts in order to meet the basic needs of the Palestinian people at this time,” Sarnic said.

“The donation came at the request of Palestine through the Turkish foreign ministry’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD),” he added.

According to the Turkish ambassador, under this project, Turkey will provide fuel for 13 hospitals in Gaza for a period of six months, as well as providing several varieties of drugs.

Dr. Gerald Rockenschaub, head of the WHO office in the OPT, said his organization will manage this project in coordination with the Palestinian Health Ministry and UNRWA.

Rockenschaub warned that hospitals and clinics in Gaza face persistent and chronic shortages in basic materials, while medicine and fuel for generator stocks have reached critical levels.

“By the end of April, 29 per cent of essential drugs and 41 per cent of medical supplies have run out from the health ministry’s stores in Gaza, while fuel reserves in the hospitals is on the verge of running out due to power outages for long and frequent periods of time,” he said.