Turkey suspends all trade with Israel over war in Gaza

May 3 (UPI) -- Turkey has announced that it is suspending all trade with Israel over its treatment of Palestinians amid its war against Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza.

Ankara's trade ministry announced the development Thursday in a statement, saying all exports and imports with Israel will be halted until "Israel declares an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and allows a sufficient and uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid."

It continued that to ensure Palestinians are not affected by the restrictions "necessary coordination efforts" will be conducted between the Ministry of Trade and the Palestinian's Ministry of National Economy.

"The massacre, humanitarian disaster and physical destruction caused by Israel persist," the ministry said. "The Israeli government has ignored international calls for a ceasefire and obstructed humanitarian aid."

The official announcement comes hours after Israel's Foreign minister, Israel Katz, said on X that Turkey was blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports.

"This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring International trade agreements," he said, referring to the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Katz said he has directed his ministry to find alternatives for trade with Turkey, focusing on local production and imports from other countries.

"Israel will emerge with a strong and daring economy," Katz said.

"We win, they lose."

Erdogan has been a critic of Israel's war since early in the campaign and has only increased his criticism as the death toll has increased to more than 34,000 Palestinians. Much of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza has also been razed.

Erdogan has previously described assaults on Gaza as "massacres" and has said that it's their duty to "save our Palestinian brothers and sisters from Israeli oppression."

The full suspension comes after Turkey last month put restrictions on some exports for Israel.