Turkish NGOs to send over 1,300 tons of humanitarian aid to Lebanon

Nine Turkish non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will send a humanitarian aid ship to Lebanon to help its people in the face of continuing devastating attacks by Israel, the groups said Wednesday.

At a press conference in Istanbul, representatives of the NGOs spoke about their aid to Lebanon.

Kemal Özdal, head of the Istanbul-based Sadakataşı Association, said Israel continues to "write some of the darkest chapters in human history."

By demolishing homes in the Gaza Strip, the occupiers have made it increasingly difficult for at least 2 million displaced civilians to access shelter, food, education, and health care, he said, referring to Israel's nearly year-long assault on the enclave.

Özdal said that the ship will carry approximately 80 containers of 1,300 tons of humanitarian aid to the Lebanese people.

The first ship is expected to arrive in Lebanon within a week, he added.

Since Sept. 23, Israel has launched massive airstrikes against what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, killing more than 1,000 people and injuring over 2,950 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The top leadership of Hezbollah was killed in the Israeli assaults, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed more than 41,600 people, most of them women and children, following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.