Turkey stopped all exports and imports to and from Israel as of Thursday, the Turkish trade ministry said, citing “worsening humanitarian tragedy” in the Palestinian territories, Reuters reported.

“Export and import transactions related to Israel have been stopped, covering all products,” Turkey’s trade ministry said in a statement.

“Turkey will strictly and decisively implement these new measures until the Israeli Government allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”

According to Reuters the two countries had a trade volume of $6.8 billion in 2023.

Turkey last month imposed trade restrictions on Israel over what it said was Israel’s refusal to allow Ankara to take part in aid air-drop operations for Gaza and its offensive on the enclave.

Earlier on Thursday, Israel’s foreign minister said that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was breaking agreements by blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports.

“This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz posted on social media platform X.

Katz said he instructed the foreign ministry to work to create alternatives for trade with Turkey, focusing on local production and imports from other countries.

Israel will carry out an operation against Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah regardless of whether or not a ceasefire and hostage release deal is reached, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

“The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all its objectives is out of the question,” Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office.

The White House said on Monday it viewed the reported role of the Indian intelligence service in two assassination plots in Canada and the United States as a serious matter.

The Washington Post reported that an officer in India’s intelligence service was directly involved in a foiled plan to assassinate a U.S. citizen who is one of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s most vocal critics in the United States.

It said the officer was also involved in the separate shooting death of a Sikh activist last June in Canada.

India’s foreign ministry said the Washington Post report made “unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter” while New Delhi is investigating the issue.

“Speculative and irresponsible comments on it are not helpful,” foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.

“This is a serious matter, and we’re taking that very, very seriously,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

“We’re going to continue to raise our concerns.”

In November, U.S. authorities said an Indian government official had directed the plot in the attempted murder of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist and dual citizen of the United States and Canada, Reuters reported.

India has expressed concern about the linkage and dissociated itself from the plot, saying it would formally investigate the concerns of the United States, and take ‘necessary follow-up action’ on the findings of a panel set up on Nov. 18.

Pannun is the general counsel of Sikhs for Justice, a group that India labeled an “unlawful association” in 2019, citing its involvement in extremist activities. Subsequently, in 2020, India listed Pannun as an “individual terrorist”.

The issue is a delicate one for both India and the Biden administration in the United States as they try to build closer ties in the face of shared concerns about China’s growing power.

News of the U.S. plot came two months after Canada said it was looking at credible allegations potentially linking Indian agents to the June murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Sikh separatist, in a Vancouver suburb.

India strongly rejected Ottawa’s accusations.