Humanitarian goods from Turkey arrive at the Kerem Shalom crossing point into the Gaza Strip; it was the first such shipment to arrive in Israel from Turkey since the reestablishment of ties between the two countries at the end of last month. (photo from Ashernet)
The families of Israel Defence Forces soldiers Oren Shaul and Hadar Goldin – both of whom were killed two years ago in Operation Protective Edge and whose bodies are still held by Hamas – were dissatisfied with the reconciliation agreement between the two countries, as it did not include the return of their sons’ bodies or the return of two Israeli citizens, Avraham Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayyad, imprisoned in the Gaza Strip. Many also objected at the apology by Israel to the Turkish government, together with a $20 million compensation package, over the May 2010 IDF raid on the Gaza-bound Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which resulted in the deaths of 10 Turkish citizens after the activists on board attacked the IDF soldiers; it was this event that caused the break in Turkish-Israeli relations.