Turkey completely severes economic ties, closes airspace to Israel

Turkey, under Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, announced a total severance of economic ties with Israel, halting all commercial interactions. Turkey also closed its airspace to Israeli flights, extending travel times to Georgia and Azerbaijan by nearly two hours.

This follows Turkey’s $7 billion trade suspension last year over Israel’s Gaza conflict with Hamas. Turkish port authorities now demand written assurances from shipping agents that vessels are not linked to Israel or carrying military cargo.

An Israeli official noted, “Turkey has already announced severing economic relations with Israel in the past (and the relations continued).”