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Türkiye Won’t Allow New Syrian Refugee Influx after Quake, Says Minister

An aerial picture shows the hospital (R) in the town of Harem, near buildings destroyed by an earthquake and tents erected to house homeless residents, in Syria's opposition-held northwestern Idlib province on the border with Türkiye, on February 11, 2023, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake. (AFP)
An aerial picture shows the hospital (R) in the town of Harem, near buildings destroyed by an earthquake and tents erected to house homeless residents, in Syria's opposition-held northwestern Idlib province on the border with Türkiye, on February 11, 2023, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake. (AFP)
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Türkiye Won’t Allow New Syrian Refugee Influx after Quake, Says Minister

An aerial picture shows the hospital (R) in the town of Harem, near buildings destroyed by an earthquake and tents erected to house homeless residents, in Syria's opposition-held northwestern Idlib province on the border with Türkiye, on February 11, 2023, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake. (AFP)
An aerial picture shows the hospital (R) in the town of Harem, near buildings destroyed by an earthquake and tents erected to house homeless residents, in Syria's opposition-held northwestern Idlib province on the border with Türkiye, on February 11, 2023, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake. (AFP)

Türkiye will not allow a new influx of refugees from Syria after last week's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday.

"Claims that there is a new influx of refugees from Syria to Türkiye (after the earthquake) are not true. We will not allow that; it is out of question," Cavusoglu said at a news conference in Ankara.

Cavusoglu was commenting on claims that Syrians were flooding into Türkiye following last Monday's 7.8 magnitude earthquake which has killed more than 37,000 in the two countries.

Humanitarian aid to Syria's opposition-held areas is being delivered through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, and Türkiye is ready to open two new border crossings from Kilis province after the earthquake, Cavusoglu said.

"All of these border crossings are for humanitarian aid. That does not mean that Syrians are coming to Türkiye through these crossings," he said.

"We are facilitating humanitarian aid for Syrians, but we are not allowing a new Syrian refugee influx. These are two separate issues," he said.

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Egypt Says Israel-EU Agreement Has Not Increased Aid to Gaza

Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)
Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)
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Egypt Says Israel-EU Agreement Has Not Increased Aid to Gaza

Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)
Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)

Egypt's foreign minister said on Monday that the flow of aid into Gaza has not increased despite an agreement last week between Israel and the European Union that should have had that result.

"Nothing has changed (on the ground)," Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told reporters ahead of the EU-Middle East meeting in Brussels on Monday.

The EU's top diplomat said on Thursday that the bloc and Israel agreed to improve Gaza's humanitarian situation, including increasing the number of aid trucks and opening crossing points and aid routes.

Asked what steps Israel has taken, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar referred to an understanding with the EU but did not provide details on implementation.

Asked if there were improvements after the agreement, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told reporters that the situation in Gaza remains "catastrophic".

"There is a real catastrophe happening in Gaza resulting from the continuation of the Israeli siege," he said.

Safadi said Israel allowed the entry of 40 to 50 trucks days ago from Jordan but that was "far from being sufficient" for the besieged enclave.

EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said ahead of Monday's meeting that there have been some signs of progress on Gaza aid but not enough improvement on the ground.

Israel's continued military operations and blockade have left the entire population of 2.3 million people in Gaza facing acute food insecurity, with nearly half a million at risk of famine by the end of September, a joint United Nations report said last month.