44 Turkish citizens evacuated from Gaza

ANKARA

Türkiye has evacuated 44 more citizens from Gaza via a border crossing in Egypt, the Foreign Ministry spokesman has announced.

Right after the conflict in Gaza broke out, Türkiye brought 30 of its citizens and their relatives back to the country. However, after the Rafah border had closed, the evacuation operation had been halted.

The initiative to bring back Turks, Turkish Cypriots and their relatives had been ongoing for a while, Öncü Keçeli said.

“Today [Nov. 18], 44 people reached Egypt through the Rafah border crossing. We expect that the number of evacuated people will increase during the day,” Keceli said.

“The evacuees are met with Turkish diplomats at the border, will be brought to Cairo and then to Türkiye via planes,” the spokesman said.

Türkiye also has been using diplomatic measures to transfer a group of Palestinian cancer patients to give them medical care via its Foreign Ministry and related institutions.