Turkey evacuates 51 people from Gaza Strip

ANKARA

A picture taken in Beit Hanun in the north of the Gaza Strip on July 17, 2014, shows the Hamas checkpoint at the Erez border crossing between the Palestinian enclave and Israel after it was hit by an Israeli air strikeç AFP Photo

Turkey has assisted in the evacuation of 51 people from the Gaza Strip, including Turkish and foreign nationals, according to a statement released by the Foreign Ministry on July 22.

The 28 Turkish nationals applied to the Turkish consulate in Jerusalem and asked to be transported out of the country through the Erez border crossing on July 13, arriving in Jordan shortly after Israel launched its military operation on the Gaza Strip, the written statement said, adding that 12 of the Turkish nationals stayed in Jordan while 16 returned to Istanbul on July 14.

On July 20, around 23 people in Gaza, including Turkish nationals and foreigners, applied to the Turkish authorities to be evacuated from the Gaza Strip, according to a statement by the foreign ministry, adding that they had arrived in Istanbul on July 21.