Turkey halts trade with Israel over Gaza 'tragedy'
By Aoife Walsh
Turkey has suspended all trade with Israel over its offensive in Gaza, citing the “worsening humanitarian tragedy” in the strip.
The Turkish trade ministry said the measures would be in place until Israel allowed an “uninterrupted and sufficient flow” of aid into Gaza.
Trade between the two countries was worth almost $7bn (£5.6bn) last year.
Israel’s foreign minister accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of acting like a “dictator”.
Israel Katz said on X that Mr Erdogan was “disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen and ignoring international trade agreements”.
He added that he had instructed the foreign ministry to find alternatives for trade with Turkey, with a focus on local production and imports from other countries.
In a statement, Turkey said the trade suspension covered “all products”.
“Turkey will strictly and decisively implement these new measures until the Israeli government allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
