Turkey blocking Israel-Nato military drills until permanent Gaza truce

Turkey will block any new cooperation, including military drills, between Israel and Nato until a permanent ceasefire is reached in Gaza, Turkish official sources told Middle East Eye on Monday.

Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported over the weekend that Turkey has blocked Israel from taking part in Nato's annual exercise on "resilience and emergency preparedness" in Bulgaria, which will be held in September.

Two Israeli sources confirmed to MEE that Ankara had blocked their country's participation in the drill.

Bulgarian and Spanish army special forces soldiers participate in a military drill, as part of Nato's Steadfast Dart 2025 exercise, at Tsrantcha military training field, Bulgaria 13 February (Reuters/Stoyan Nenov) — Bulgarian and Spanish army special forces soldiers participate in a military drill, as part of Nato's Steadfast Dart 2025 exercise, at Tsrantcha military training field, Bulgaria 13 February (Reuters/