A US military aircraft delivered military aid to Israel for its ongoing war in Gaza using İncirlik Airbase in Turkey, a contradiction to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s anti-Israel rhetoric, according to a special report by the Declassified UK news website.
Israel began pounding Gaza after Hamas militants carried out an unprecedented attack in the country on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage. Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks on Gaza have so far claimed the lives of more than 22,000 people, according to the local authorities, in addition to leading to vast destruction in the enclave.
President Erdoğan has been vocal in condemnation of Israel, labeling it a “terrorist state.”
The report reveals that despite Erdoğan’s public stance, Turkey hasn’t prevented the use of İncirlik Airbase by the US military for operations that appear to support Israeli military activities. İncirlik, home to the US Air Force’s 39th Air Base Wing, was reportedly used to dispatch a US C-130J Hercules military transport aircraft to RAF Akrotiri, a major British air base in Cyprus, which is being used as a staging ground for moving arms to Israel.
The report also includes leaked US cables published by WikiLeaks showing Erdoğan’s private concessions to the US. Erdoğan granted extensive rights for the US to use İncirlik for the Iraq war in 2003, including for troop rotations and cargo movements.
The US C-130, which can carry a large amount of military cargo, traveled from İncirlik to RAF Akrotiri on November 5, a day after arriving at İncirlik from Aviano Air Base in Italy, known for storing munitions for F-16s, the fighter jets used by Israel in Gaza.
The use of İncirlik by the US for such purposes, as indicated by the flight patterns and the base’s capabilities, raises questions about Turkey’s role in Israel’s war effort.
This comes amid Erdoğan’s recent harsh criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, comparing him to Adolf Hitler and condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Declassified UK reported that inquiries to the British Ministry of Defence regarding the flight from İncirlik to RAF Akrotiri were met with no response. Similarly, the US Department of Defense did not provide answers to Declassified’s questions about this particular flight.