Israeli boat rams int'l aid ship off Gaza

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 | Presstv

An international aid boat carrying a consignment of medical supplies to the Gaza Strip has been reportedly rammed by an Israeli patrol vessel. An Israeli patrol vessel rammed a boat of Palestinian activists carrying a shipment of medical aid that tried to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip, Israeli military radio said Tuesday, AFP reported. The radio station further added that an Israeli vessel fired warning shots at the boat 'The Dignity' and ordered it to turn around, but the aid vessel nevertheless tried to navigate around the patrol boat which blocked its passage. The shipment was organized by a group of international activists in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade on Gaza. Both the Israeli and Palestinian vessels suffered damage but the collision left no injuries. On Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon voiced his concerns over the Israeli assaults. "I am deeply alarmed by the current escalation of violence in and around Gaza. This is unacceptable," Ban said at a press conference held at the UN's headquarters in New York. The Israeli regime's fierce airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has left at least 360 Palestinians killed and 1600 others wounded since Saturday.

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