A press conference was held in Istanbul on Friday at the headquarters of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) to mourn and condemn the killing of five IHH aid workers in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza

These humanitarian heroes were on the front lines, working in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), striving to deliver vital food aid to Gaza’s besieged and starving population.

Bülent Yıldırım

IHH President Bülent Yıldırım voiced his outrage and grief, highlighting the staggering human cost of Israel’s war of aggression. “Since the beginning of the horrific Israeli offensive on October 7, 2023, we have lost 11 of our dedicated colleagues who sacrificed their lives to serve the Palestinian people. The latest attack has been the deadliest for our team,” he said, his voice heavy with sorrow and anger.

Yıldırım condemned the Israeli occupation’s deliberate targeting of humanitarian workers as part of a broader campaign to choke Gaza’s population into submission by cutting off essential aid. “We deliver 180,000 meals every single day to the people of Gaza. This act of mercy and solidarity makes Israel deeply uneasy, because it threatens their genocidal siege,” he explained. Yıldırım also pointed fingers at the United States, accusing it of complicity in these atrocities and demanding international accountability: “The U.S. shares responsibility for these crimes against humanity and must be held to account in the courts of justice.”

With passion and urgency, Yıldırım challenged the international community’s silence and inaction: “How many more women, children, and innocent civilians must be slaughtered before the world acts? The aid workers who bring food, medicine, and hope to Gaza’s oppressed people are being deliberately massacred by Israel’s forces. This is not just a tragedy — it is a war crime. The world’s reaction must be more than mere words of condemnation. This is a humanitarian catastrophe that demands immediate intervention.”

Emre Kaya

IHH Vice President Emre Kaya echoed these sentiments, describing the cruel cycle of broken ceasefires and intensified Israeli bombardments. “Every time a ceasefire is rumored or announced, Israel responds with even fiercer attacks,” Kaya said. “Just last night, when false reports of a ceasefire spread, Gaza’s children bravely took to the streets in celebration. But Israel responded with renewed violence, shattering any hope for peace. Even as we speak, the attacks continue without mercy.”

Providing a stark account of the scale of destruction and loss, IHH Board of Trustees member İzzet Şahin laid bare the grim reality faced by Gaza’s population: “Over 54,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bombs, artillery, and airstrikes — the vast majority civilians, including children, women, the elderly, healthcare workers, and journalists. More than 120,000 have been seriously injured. Gaza’s infrastructure has been decimated — with 90% of the territory destroyed, hundreds of thousands of homes reduced to rubble, and vital services like water, electricity, and medical care all but collapsed.”

İzzet Şahin

On Wednesday, five aid workers from the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), an Istanbul-based international humanitarian organization, collaborating with the UN World Food Programme (WFP), were tragically killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, with two others sustaining serious injuries.

In a statement posted on X, the IHH confirmed: “Five of our colleagues working on our Gaza project in cooperation with the World Food Programme were martyred during the recent attacks by the occupying Israeli forces over the past two days, and two others were seriously wounded.”

The organization condemned Israel’s “heinous attack” on humanitarian workers who risk their lives daily to deliver crucial aid to the oppressed people of Gaza.

IHH named the fallen aid workers as Mohammed al-Mubayyid, Ahmed Bustan, Mutaz Rajab, Jamal al-Mubayyid, and Ishaq al-Tayf, expressing heartfelt condolences to their families.

Highlighting the worsening crisis, WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain warned on Sunday that nearly half a million people in Gaza face severe food insecurity and are at risk of famine.Adding to the crisis, the United Nations World Food Programme’s Executive Director, Cindy McCain, recently sounded the alarm that more than half a million Palestinians in Gaza face extreme food insecurity and the threat of famine. This dire warning underscores the catastrophic impact of the ongoing siege and military assault, which has blocked essential supplies of food, medicine, fuel, and humanitarian aid since March 2.

As Gaza’s civilians endure relentless bombardment, mass displacement, and a humanitarian blockade that amounts to collective punishment, calls for an immediate ceasefire and lifting of the siege grow louder worldwide. Yet, the international response remains painfully insufficient, allowing the cycle of violence and suffering to continue unabated.

The IHH press conference stands as a powerful reminder of the human cost of this conflict — the lives lost, the aid workers martyred, and the millions trapped under siege who urgently need the world’s solidarity and action. It is a call to conscience for governments, international organizations, and people everywhere to break the silence, end the occupation, and restore dignity and justice to the Palestinian people. (ILKHA)