Turkey halts trade with Israel until permanent Gaza ceasefire

Turkey said on Friday it will not resume trade with Israel, worth $7 billion a year, until a permanent ceasefire and humanitarian aid are secured in Gaza, becoming the first of Israel's key commercial partners to take such a step.

Israel's "uncompromising attitude" and the worsening situation in Gaza's Rafah region, a refuge for displaced people that Israel has threatened to storm - prompted Ankara to halt all exports and imports, Trade Minister Omer Bolat said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz criticised Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's move, enacted late on...