Turkish ports require ships to declare no ties to 'Israel'
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Turkish port authorities now require informal assurance letters from shipping companies to confirm their vessels are not heading to "Israel" or carrying hazardous or military cargo.
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Container ship New Yorker crosses the Bosphorus Strait, in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, on its way to Constanta port, Romania. (AP)
Turkish port authorities are now requiring shipping companies to provide informal letters assuring them that their vessels are not bound for "Israel" and are not carrying any military or hazardous cargo for it, Reuters reported, citing sources, on Monday.
The instructions include all Turkish ports, in a step that shows escalating scrutiny on shipping movement amid regional tensions. The sources said that the Turkish port administration issued verbal instructions to port agents on the necessity of providing written guarantees; however, there is no official circular yet regarding this matter.
According to a second source, the purpose of this guarantee letter is to confirm that a vessel's owners, managers, and operators have no ties to the Israeli occupation, to ensure that no specified types of cargo, such as explosives, radioactive materials, or military equipment, are present on board, and to prevent any such goods from being routed to "Israel" through Turkish ports.
This move comes amid rising regional tensions and growing debate over trade with "Israel", as Turkey moves to tighten scrutiny on imports and exports linked to the military sector or hazardous goods. Meanwhile, the Israeli war on Gaza continues to escalate, with "Israel" pushing through with its plan to occupy Gaza, starting with taking over Gaza City.
Gaza death toll breaks through 62,000
On Wednesday, August 20, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that 58 Palestinians had been martyred, including two whose bodies were retrieved from under the rubble, and that 185 others had been injured over the past 24 hours as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip.
The total number of victims since the start of the aggression on October 7, 2023, has risen to 62,122 martyrs and 156,758 injured, while the toll recorded since March 18, 2025, has reached 10,576 martyrs and 44,717 injured.
Among the victims in the past 24 hours were 22 martyred and 49 wounded while trying to collect humanitarian aid, which raises the total number of aid martyrs to 2,018 and the number of injured in such incidents to over 14,947.
'Israel' launches second phase of Gideon's Chariots
This comes as the Israeli regime begins its occupation of Gaza, announcing the start of the second phase of its "Gideon's Chariots (B)" military operation in the Gaza Strip, and has begun preliminary maneuvers to encircle Gaza City.
According to a military spokesperson, the 162nd Division has launched operations from Jabalia in the northwest as part of a broader strategy to tighten the siege on the city, a campaign that may take an extended period but could also be halted depending on political directives, with all maneuvers being carried out by conscript units backed by 133,000 reserve soldiers.
Israeli media outlets, such as the Kan 11 public broadcaster, reported that the military's plan is structured to unfold in two principal phases spanning four months.
In its first phase, the operation aims to establish so-called "humanitarian zones" with limited infrastructure in the southern part of the Strip to create the conditions for a mass evacuation of civilians from Gaza City, which would then be followed by a ground maneuver to complete the city's encirclement while the evacuations continue.
The second phase of the operation is set to involve the gradual entry of forces into Gaza City itself through a slow, methodical advance supported by sustained air strikes and artillery shelling until the city is fully captured.
