104 Turkish Cypriots currently trapped in Gaza awaiting evacuation

There are 104 Turkish Cypriots inside Gaza, Turkey’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yildiz said on Thursday.

The 104 Turkish Cypriots are among around 700 people waiting to be evacuated to Turkey, he said.

“As of yesterday, approximately 700 people were waiting in the Gaza strip to be evacuated to Turkey. 322 of them are citizens of the Republic of Turkey, 104 are citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” he said.

He added, “214 Turkish citizens have relatives who are Palestinian, among them are spouses, cousins, and nephews. We have personnel from 55 institutions, Anadolu Agency, TRT, and the [Turkish] Health Ministry.”

“We are also carrying out preparations for the treatment of injured people in Gaza in a hospital which will either be established [in Turkey] or in the region,” he said.

Meanwhile, the north’s ‘foreign ministry’ released a statement confirming that 150 Turkish Cypriots and relatives have already been successfully evacuated from Israel and Palestine.

Turkish Cypriots remaining in Gaza are able to call the TRNC’s ‘foreign ministry’s’ call centre at +90 533 851 40 06.