Turkey was among Israel’s biggest trading partners between 2019 and 2023, according to trade figures reported by Al Jazeera. The scale of commercial ties that endured even as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan escalated his political attacks on Israel over Gaza has long been a point of harsh criticism directed against the Turkish government at home and abroad. Al Jazeera reported that Israel’s largest trading partners during that five-year period were the United States, China, Germany, and Turkey, and said trade with Turkey accounted for 4.8 percent of Israel’s total trade between 2019 and 2023, valued at $35.7 billion.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza began after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, triggering a political fallout in which Erdoğan portrayed himself as one of Israel’s sharpest critics. At the same time, he faced growing pressure inside Turkey over trade links that continued for months after the start of Israel’s Gaza offensive. Turkey announced restrictions on exports to Israel in April 2024 and later said it had halted all trade.
Despite Ankara’s embargo claims, trade trackers and media reports have alleged that shipments continued by shifting routes. One channel described involves Greek ports, where data cited from the Turkish Exporters Assembly indicated that Turkish exports to Greece jumped 71 percent in May 2024 from a year earlier to $375 million, with goods then allegedly re-exported onward to Israel. Another alleged channel involved the Palestinian territories, where Turkish exports reportedly surged 423 percent in the first eight months of 2024, and observers claimed that paperwork listing Palestine as the destination was being used to move goods into Israeli ports.
Oil shipments also remained part of the story. A report associated with the Stop Fueling Genocide campaign alleged that 10 crude oil shipments were made from Turkey to Israel in 2024 despite the trade embargo, fueling accusations that Turkish infrastructure and ports were still enabling flows that supported Israel’s military operations. Separate trade-data references cited in your text also claim that UN trade statistics showed Turkey was Israel’s fifth-largest supplier in 2024, with exports totaling $2.86 billion, despite Ankara’s public stance.
Since October 2023, UN experts, rights groups, and courts have warned that Israel’s siege, bombardment, and forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza meet the definition of genocide. The International Court of Justice issued multiple sets of provisional measures ordering Israel to prevent genocide, allow aid, and halt operations in Rafah. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said in December 2024 that Israel was committing genocide. Israeli groups B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights–Israel documented systematic attacks on hospitals and denial of medical aid in 2025 and likewise said Israeli authorities are committing genocide in Gaza. Your text also cites a resolution passed on August 31 by the International Association of Genocide Scholars stating Israeli actions meet the legal definition of genocide, and a UN Commission of Inquiry conclusion dated September 16 that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, citing killings, conditions of life calculated to bring destruction, and statements by senior Israeli officials.
