“Israel” Stops Gaza’s Humanitarian Flotilla Vessel

Local Editor

“Israeli” warships stopped a boat from a humanitarian flotilla set off from the Gaza strip to Cyprus to break the regime's 11-year siege on the coastal enclave.

The Zionist military confessed in a statement that one boat with eight people on board was prevented from breaching the naval blockade on Tuesday, adding that “Israel” will continue to enforce the blockade.

"After the boat and the Palestinians on board are searched, the boat will be towed to the “Israeli” navy base in Ashdod," the statement said.

Earlier, organizers of the flotilla, which set off on Tuesday, said contact with one boat was lost after 10 nautical miles. The Zionist entity’s blockade restricts Gazan vessels to up to six nautical miles off the coastal sliver.

Meanwhile, the status of the remaining boats is still unclear.

On May 29, another flotilla, composed of a main boat accompanied by smaller boats, set sail from waters off Gaza, carrying Palestinian patients -- mostly those injured during the Tel Aviv regime’s military crackdown on weeks-long rallies against “Israel’s” occupation.

The flotilla was swiftly intercepted and seized by “Israeli” navy forces. The 17 Palestinian activists aboard the vessels were also taken into custody.

Separately, a “Freedom Flotilla Coalition” dispatched a ship to Gaza, which similarly seeks to break the Zionist siege. It has traveled thousands of miles from Scandinavian ports and was reported to be near Corsica on July 8.

Gaza has been under an “Israeli” siege since June 2007, which has caused a sharp decline in living standards as well as unprecedented unemployment and poverty.

According to the UN, the stringent conditions threaten to render the territory uninhabitable by 2020.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team