Turkey halts trade with Israel over the war in Gaza

Turkey will not resume trade with Israel, worth $7 billion US a year, until a permanent ceasefire and humanitarian aid are secured in Gaza, it said on Friday, the first of Israel's key partners to halt trade over the conflict.

Israel's "uncompromising attitude" and the worsening situation in Gaza's southern Rafah region — where Israel has threatened to launch a new offensive — prompted Turkey to halt all exports and imports, the country's trade minister Omer Bolat said.

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz criticized Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's move, announced late on Thursday, saying it breaks international trade agreements and was "how a dictator behaves."

Katz said the Israeli government would look for "alternatives for trade with Turkey, focusing on local production and imports from other countries."

The militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, praised the decision as brave and supportive of Palestinian rights.

"We decided to stop exports and imports to and from Israel until a permanent ceasefire is achieved [in Gaza] and humanitarian aid is allowed without interruption," the minister Bolat said.

Last month, Turkey curbed exports of steel, fertilizer and jet fuel among 54 product categories over what it said was Israel's refusal to allow Ankara to take part in aid air-drop operations for Gaza.

Turkish exporters with firm orders are looking at ways to send their goods to Israel via third countries after Turkey halted bilateral trade, four export sector sources told Reuters.

Katz said blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports ignores trade deals, adding on social media platform X that Israel would work toward alternatives for trade with Turkey.

Turkey has denounced Israel's military campaign in Gaza, sent thousands of tonnes of aid for Gazans and, this week, said it would join South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Turkey maintains ties with Hamas leaders and does not deem it a terrorist group, unlike several other countries who are also part of NATO.

On Wednesday, President Gustavo Petro said Colombia would break diplomatic relations with Israel over its actions in Gaza, earning a harsh rebuke from Katz. Petro has already heavily criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and requested to join South Africa's case at the ICJ.

More than 34,000 people have been killed in Gaza during Israel's nearly seven-month-old military offensive, Palestinian health officials say. The military operation in Gaza came after militants led by Hamas killed some 1,200 people and took 253 hostages during an Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies.

Netanyahu said earlier this week that Israel is committed to a military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, despite international concerns.