Turkey has announced a series of sweeping measures against Israel, including barring Israeli vessels from its ports, prohibiting Turkish ships from docking in Israel, and restricting planes entering Turkish airspace.
The announcement was made on Friday by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during an extraordinary session of parliament on Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza.
Fidan’s remarks formalised steps that Ankara had already begun to take or implement in recent weeks. Turkey has been one of Israel’s fiercest critics during the conflict, repeatedly accusing it of committing genocide in Gaza—a charge Israel strongly denies.
Ankara had earlier halted all trade with Israel, called for international sanctions, and urged world powers to withdraw their support.
Turkish port authorities had also begun informally requiring shipping agents to submit declarations confirming that vessels were not linked to Israel and were not carrying military or hazardous cargo destined for the country.
“We have totally cut our trade with Israel, we have closed off our ports to Israeli ships and we are not allowing Turkish vessels to go to Israel’s ports,” Fidan told lawmakers. “We are not allowing container ships carrying weapons and ammunition to Israel to enter our ports, and airplanes to go into our airspace,” he added.
In addition to these measures, Fidan confirmed that Turkey had received presidential approval to carry out air drops of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“Our planes are ready. Once Jordan gives its approval, we will be in a position to go,” he said.
The Israeli government has not yet responded to Ankara’s latest announcement.
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