 Some of the 100 activists with the 'Asia 1' aid convoy hold Palestinian and Turkish flags as they cross to the southern Gaza Strip through the Rafah border. AFP photo. |
Around 100 pro-Palestinian activists, part of an aid convoy from Asia organized in part by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation, or İHH, crossed into the Gaza Strip from Egypt early Monday.
The convoy’s aid cargo arrived in Gaza after traveling separately from Syria to Egypt by boat, Indian organizer Feroz Mesberola said.
He said at a news conference that Egyptian authorities had prevented several activists from entering Gaza at the Rafah border crossing.
The aid convoy, dubbed “Asia 1,” left India at the beginning of December and had planned to arrive in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip by Dec. 27, the second anniversary of Israel’s “Operation Cast Lead” offensive on Gaza.
The boat is carrying $1 million worth of medicine, foodstuffs and toys as well as four buses and 10 power generators for hospitals, Palestinian officials have said.
The İHH put together an ill-fated previous attempt to break the Israeli embargo on Gaza with a naval aid convoy in May 2010.
That effort ended in disaster when Israeli naval commandos raided the aid ships, killing eight Turks and one American of Turkish descent on board one of the vessels. Israel faced international condemnation over the incident, which also threw ties with Turkey into a deep crisis.
Since the incident, Israel has loosened some of the restrictions on imports into Gaza and exports from the coastal enclave. Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza after Palestinian groups captured one of its soldiers, Gilad Shalit, in June 2006. He has yet to be released.
The embargo was reinforced in 2007 after Hamas seized control of the coastal enclave a year after it won legislative elections following deadly fighting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction.
The convoy’s aid cargo arrived in Gaza after traveling separately from Syria to Egypt by boat, Indian organizer Feroz Mesberola said.
He said at a news conference that Egyptian authorities had prevented several activists from entering Gaza at the Rafah border crossing.
The aid convoy, dubbed “Asia 1,” left India at the beginning of December and had planned to arrive in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip by Dec. 27, the second anniversary of Israel’s “Operation Cast Lead” offensive on Gaza.
The boat is carrying $1 million worth of medicine, foodstuffs and toys as well as four buses and 10 power generators for hospitals, Palestinian officials have said.
The İHH put together an ill-fated previous attempt to break the Israeli embargo on Gaza with a naval aid convoy in May 2010.
That effort ended in disaster when Israeli naval commandos raided the aid ships, killing eight Turks and one American of Turkish descent on board one of the vessels. Israel faced international condemnation over the incident, which also threw ties with Turkey into a deep crisis.
Since the incident, Israel has loosened some of the restrictions on imports into Gaza and exports from the coastal enclave. Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza after Palestinian groups captured one of its soldiers, Gilad Shalit, in June 2006. He has yet to be released.
The embargo was reinforced in 2007 after Hamas seized control of the coastal enclave a year after it won legislative elections following deadly fighting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction.
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