Report: Turkish Aid Official Killed in Gaza Strike

A senior official with the Turkish aid organization Deniz Feneri, identified as Saqr al-Qaisi, was reportedly killed in a strike that hit a vehicle in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Palestinian news agency Wafa separately reported that al-Qaisi died in an unmanned aerial vehicle strike on a car in the Al-Hawz area, south of Deir al-Balah. Al-Qaisi allegedly headed Deniz Feneri's branch in the Gaza Strip. The IDF has not yet issued an official statement regarding the strike, its target, or whether al-Qaisi had any role in terrorist organizations beyond his work with the aid group. Deniz Feneri is one of several Turkish aid organizations active in Gaza. According to figures provided by its chairman, Mehmet Cengiz, in August, the organization employs approximately 550 local staff in Gaza and operates 12 to 13 kitchens producing about 25,000 hot meals daily. Since the start of its expanded operations during the war, the organization has distributed over five million meals. Turkish presence in Gaza is extensive, involving both governmental bodies and civilian aid groups. Turkey's AFAD emergency agency reported delivering over 100,000 tons of aid to Gaza since October 7, 2023, via ships and planes. The Turkish Red Crescent and the state aid agency TIKA also operate food, health, and humanitarian aid systems in the Strip. TIKA reported in March distributing over 200 tons of food and preparing around 130,000 iftar meals during Ramadan. Historically, ties between Turkish entities operating in Gaza and Hamas have been exposed. In 2017, the Shin Bet stated that Muhammed Murtaja, then head of TIKA's Gaza branch, was active in Hamas's military wing and diverted aid funds and supplies to the organization. The Shin Bet also claimed in the same investigation that the Turkish organization IHH, involved in the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla, transferred funds to Hamas's military wing for training facilities and weapons purchases. Israel designated IHH an "unlawful association" in 2008, and the Turkel Commission found IHH activists used firearms against IDF soldiers during the flotilla incident.