Türkiye hosting Eastern Mediterranean-2023 Invitation Naval Exercise
Week-long naval exercise aims to assess operational capabilities of Turkish Navy, civilians teams, NATO units, other nations, says Turkish colonel
Esra Tekin |19.11.2023 – Update : 19.11.2023
MUGLA, Türkiye
The Eastern Mediterranean-2023 Invitation Naval Exercise organized by the Turkish Navy, began in the Eastern Mediterranean, hosted by Türkiye.
Ships, personnel, and observers from nine countries participate in the naval exercise that began Saturday.
A briefing was provided to observers and press members on the Turkish landing ship TCG Sancaktar anchored at Aksaz Naval Base in the Marmaris district of the country’s Mugla province.
Rear Adm. Huseyin Tigli, the fleet commander, recalled devastating earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye earlier this year, underlining that the exercise would involve training and execution in search and rescue missions and the transportation of humanitarian aid.
Tigli also pointed out that the TCG Anadolu would play an active role in the exercise.
Turkish Col. Osman Diler also spoke during the briefing about the definition, participants, and objectives of the exercise.
Diler said Eastern Mediterranean-2023 would continue in the Eastern Mediterranean until Nov. 25 under the command of Türkiye Navy.
He emphasized that the drill aimed to simultaneously assess operational capabilities in the Turkish Naval Forces, as well as civilian and public institutions, NATO’s Permanent Task Force units, and other countries under the command of the Turkish Maritime Force (TURMARFOR) Headquarters.
Diler also said that the naval exercise, planned in accordance with NATO Exercise Planning Procedures, would be directed and managed by a 115-person Exercise Command Center at the Naval Warfare Center.
“NATO Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG-2) elements will also participate in the exercise,” he said, adding that Türkiye’s participating forces would include 24 ships, 10 helicopters, five unmanned aerial vehicles, three maritime patrol aircraft, and four submarines.
Türkiye will also be fielding a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) defense team, as well as two submarine defense teams, an amphibious marine infantry battalion, three submarine attack teams, three army helicopters, three airborne early warning and control aircraft, 20 F-16 jets, and coast guard boats.
The country’s Interior Ministry, Health Ministry, Transport and Infrastructure Ministry, Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, and the Turkish Red Crescent, will also be attending, he added.
Diler explained that the exercise scenario consisted of main and secondary events, including asymmetric threats, CBRN, regional maritime control, evacuation of non-combatants, humanitarian aid, natural disaster support, maritime piracy, and collaboration and guidance activities for maritime transport.
“From Nov. 19 to Nov. 21, training for asymmetric threat, photex, surface gunfire, land bombardment, surface warfare, submarine warfare, mine countermeasure operations, amphibious operations, and search and rescue, including actual live-fire exercises, will be conducted,” he further said.
Diler added that following the preparation training, from Nov. 21 to Nov. 23, a free-play phase would take place in the Eastern Mediterranean, including scenarios for humanitarian aid and natural disaster support.
*Writing by Esra Tekin in Ankara
Also here:
ANKARA, Oct 19 (Reuters) – U.S. officials told their Turkish counterparts that aircraft carriers moved closer to Israel in the eastern Mediterranean were sent there for the possible evacuation of civilians, a Turkish defence ministry official said on Thursday.
The U.S. has deployed two aircraft carriers – and their support ships – to the eastern Mediterranean since a surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel this month.
President Tayyip Erdogan criticised the U.S. for the move, saying that they would commit “serious massacres” in Gaza.
He also said the deployment of U.S. aircraft carriers to the region hindered Turkish efforts to establish calm in the region.
“When we raise this issue with our U.S. counterparts, they tell us that those aircraft carrier groups were sent there as part of non-combatant evacuation operations for civilians in the region,” a Turkish defence ministry official told reporters.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier said that the deployment of aircraft carrier battle groups to the region was “not meant as a provocation, it’s meant as a deterrent”.
Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Daren Butler and Nick Macfie
1,000 boats said set to leave Turkey for Gaza waters in new ‘Freedom Flotilla’
Reminiscent of infamous 2010 Mavi Marmara protest, large maritime convoy plans to remain in international waters off Ashdod and disrupt sea trade route to Israel
By Gianluca Pacchiani 21 November 2023, 1:07 am
Approximately 1,000 boats will gather in Turkey on Wednesday before heading toward Gaza in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade and disrupt maritime trade coming into Israel during the war with Hamas, in an apparent repeat of similar attempts from over a decade ago.
In an interview with Turkish news website Haber7, Volkan Okçu, one of the organizers of the protest, indicated the boats will carry 4,500 people from 40 countries, “including anti-Zionist Jews.”
…
However, Okçu said in a later tweet that he expected the number of Turkish vessels to be much higher, at least 1,000, and insisted that the initiative is not associated with the Turkish government. He did not explain the discrepancy in numbers.
The activist indicated to Haber7 that the flotilla is scheduled to leave Turkish coasts on Thursday. The maritime convoy is set to make a first stop in Cyprus before continuing toward the Israeli port of Ashdod. Some participants in the flotilla will also reportedly take their spouses and children on board.
…
A couple of weeks have passed since the conference described below. Events are moving very rapidly.
The agreement to exchange women and children prisoners could result in far more people in Israel understanding that “all for all” is a realistic possibility and insisting on the government accepting it.
But what happens afterwards? There is a fork in the road.
Israel could just withdraw, but not without exacting more revenge first.
Or Israel could continue to expel the Palestinians already forced into Gaza and recently driven from Gaza city in the north to the south further into Egypt and could step up the same process of expulsion in the West Bank that is already being accelerated.
Or it could shift from direct and public incitement of genocide to actual genocide.
Many possibilities are open. But the only sane outcome requires the presence of a large international armed force.
Humanitarian relief requires a functioning government with armed forces that Israel stops bombing. It is still not clear whether anybody will actually take responsibility for governing Gaza.
Or will they just hold war crimes trials afterwards?
Maritime corridor, floating hospitals for Gaza in focus at Paris conference
By Michele Kambas, John Irish and Gabriela Baczynska
November 8, 20232:00 AM GMT+11Updated 15 days ago
- Summary
- *About 80 countries, organisations invited to Paris Gaza meeting on Nov. 9
- * Aim to co-ordinate aid, help for besieged enclave
- * Cyprus proposes maritime corridor to get aid into Gaza
- * France sees opportunity for naval ships off Gaza coast
NICOSIA/PARIS/BRUSSELS, Nov 7 (Reuters) – World powers meet in Paris on Thursday to coordinate aid and help for the wounded in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, with the possible creation of a maritime corridor, naval medical facilities and field hospitals to be considered, European diplomats said.
A month after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas Islamists that killed 1,400 people in Israel, concern is growing over civilian casualties that have soared under Israel’s retaliatory bombardments, with more than 10,000 Palestinians killed, and many more wounded and forced to flee their homes.
The conference brings together regional stakeholders such as Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf Arab countries as well as Western powers and G20 members – excluding Russia. International institutions and non-governmental organisations operating in Gaza are also due to attend.
The Palestinian Authority will be present but Israel has not been invited, although it will be kept informed of the developments.
The broad aim is to mobilise financial resources and find ways to get aid into the enclave, while also getting those seriously wounded out given Gaza’s medical infrastructure is fast collapsing.
Cyprus, the closest EU member state to Gaza, has put forward an idea to get more aid into Gaza via a maritime corridor.
It would expand the limited capacities beyond the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, but the concept is tricky, four diplomats said.
Israeli officials would also want to check all goods coming from Limassol port in Cyprus, the diplomats said.
Who would receive the aid would also need to be clarified as there are concerns it could fall into Hamas’ hands, two diplomats said. Israel would also want to vet what aid was going into Gaza and opposes supplying badly-needed fuel to the enclave, they said.
There are also technical issues. Port infrastructure off Gaza was started in 2016, but has since been abandoned.
“Gaza doesn’t have a harbour fit for such purpose,” said a senior EU official. “It would require building a floating marina by a country with proper navy experience.”
Should it even go ahead, the mission’s safety would need to be ensured and would be likely to need a pause in fighting.
FLOATING HOSPITALS
On top of the Cypriot proposal, diplomats said France has also suggested taking the idea further and expanding the corridor to evacuating people who are severely wounded onto hospital ships in the Mediterranean off the coast of Gaza.
French officials have said they are discussing the issue with Israeli and Egyptian authorities, but the idea would be to get critical masse from several countries willing to send ships with the necessary medical capacity.
Paris is preparing a helicopter carrier for that purpose including beds, surgical capacities, medication and personnel. It is not expected in the region for another 10 days.
“Regarding the humanitarian corridor with France, there is an idea to bring a ship with some medical capabilities.” Col. Elad Goren, head of Israel’s Civil Department of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), told reporters on Tuesday.
“We are working with the French and with the Egyptians in order to try to build up a mechanism to evacuate wounded people, but it’s still ongoing.”
In a letter sent to European counterparts on Nov. 3, Italy’s defence minister has also said his country is ready to send a ship equipped with an intensive care ward and surgical capacities as soon as possible, two diplomats said.
“But the question is how you would get evacuated from land to ships?” said one of the diplomats. “On the ground first through Egypt or Israel? Directly from Gaza by sea? It’s very complex.”
Either way, three diplomats said that hospital ships were essentially only a temporary solution and that the aim would be to eventually set up field hospitals either close to the border in Gaza or on the Egyptian side.
“The Egyptians do not want multiple field hospitals on their side because it could be used as a pretext to push the Palestinians into the Sinai,” said one diplomat.
Additional reporting by Jonathan Saul in Jerusalem; Writing by John Irish; Editing by Angus MacSwan
A conference to which Israel was not invited was a necessary first step. But two weeks later the medical system in Gaza cannot even keep track of the numbers of deaths.
It would be nonsensical to keep pretending that humanitarian aid can operate along with Israeli occupation and bombing. The “Responsibility to Protect” requires an armed force able to provide an interim government for a “Failed State”. As soon as governments are actually willing to take that responsibility they should of course inform the Israeli government so that it has an adequate opportunity to claim victory and get out.
But they have to offer protection. Not just “aid”.
The first step in making it clear that the responsibility is accepted and draw a sharp line as to who is governing Gaza is to indict those responsible for “crimes against humanity” that have made it necessary to send an armed force capable of protecting the civilian population against further such crimes.
Responsibility to Protect:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility_to_protect
https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/about-responsibility-to-protect.shtml
C21st Left 
Pingback: Gaza – posturing won’t help | C21st Left
Pingback: Israel and Gaza – holding 3 things at once | C21st Left