Turkey blocks flotilla holding 5,000 tonnes of aid to famine-threatened Gaza

Around 5,000 tonnes of aid bound for Gaza has been blocked by Turkish authorities, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition has said, with one of the group's vessels stranded in the port town of Haydarpaşa and waiting for approval to head to the besieged enclave.

Freedom Flotilla Coalition has been confined to the Turkish port for more than 45 days, despite passing all the necessary checks to depart for Gaza, the group has said.

The aim of the flotilla is not only to deliver desperately needed aid to Gaza but also to raise awareness about the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave which is on the verge of famine.

"As human beings, we have a duty to stop this genocide committed by Israel and its collaborators. We have prepared ships to break the blockade and carry humanitarian aid and these ships need to be allowed to sail," said Beheşti İsmail, a Steering Committee member of the Freedom Flotilla.

"As we approach the one-year marker of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, we speak not only to the Turkish government but every member of every political establishment around the globe when we say: any political obstacles placed in our path are walls that must be overcome and torn down," İsmail said, adding: "Those who build these walls will not be able to account for their actions before the conscience of the world."

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause throughout the 11-month war on Gaza and before, making him a key target of the Israeli political establishment.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was also invited to address the Turkish parliament last month where, wearing a Turkey-Palestine scarf, he gave a defiant speech about the war on Gaza.

Erdogan has also been applying pressure on Israel and its allies to end the war, Ankara has said, where he even threatened in July to send Turkish troops to Israel if the offensive on Palestinians continues or an invasion of Lebanon takes place.

The coalition attempted to send a humanitarian vessel to Gaza in April but was blocked due to "Israeli tactics".

In 2010, a flotilla to Gaza led by Turkish activists was subject to a brutal assault by Israeli special forces, resulting in the massacre of 10 unarmed people.

Gaza has been subject to a crippling blockade by Israel since 2007, which has intensified during October with the UN warning of famine due to a lack of essential supplies.