First ship in six years: Israel-Turkey deal restores humanitarian aid to Gaza
The first Turkish ship in six years with aid bound for Gaza arrived in a nearby Israeli port a week after the two countries agreed to restore diplomatic ties. Sunday afternoon, the Panama-flagged Lady Leyla landed in the Israeli port of Ashdod with 11,000 tons of supplies, including food packages of flour, rice, and sugar, as well as 10,000 toys, according to the Turkish-state run Anadolu news agency. The aid must go through Israel's border crossing to Gaza, rather than straight to the Palestinian territory, because of Israeli security concerns about weapons smuggling.