Turkey has halted trade with Israel as it again accused the country of stoking a “humanitarian disaster” in Gaza, marking the latest sign of deepening tensions between the two nations, Financial Times reports.

Ankara’s trade ministry late on Thursday said all export and import transactions related to Israel had been stopped and would not resume until Tel Aviv “allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza”.

Ankara in April sanctioned exports in 54 important categories of goods but this latest move will disrupt bilateral trade worth more than $7bn a year. A Turkish official described the curbs as a temporary measure meant to put pressure on Israel, but said they could also be reversed if Ankara’s conditions were met.

Israel Katz, Israeli foreign minister, said earlier in the day, following a Bloomberg report that Ankara had cut off trade, that he had urgently instructed officials to “create alternatives for trade with Turkiye”.

“This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements,” Katz wrote on X, referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

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