New Ships Headed to Gaza to Challenge Blockade

A fresh challenge to Israel's naval blockade is already heading towards Gaza, says the co-founder of the Free Gaza Movement. Greta Berlin says a cargo ship is en route to Gaza from Italy and a boat carrying dozens of passengers is expected to join it. Israel says 50 of the movement's activists arrested after yesterday's raid on an aid flotilla have been sent to an airport for deportation. Over 600 others have refused to identify themselves and are in prison in southern Israel.

"This initiative is not going to stop," Berlin tells the AP. "We think eventually Israel will get some kind of common sense. They're going to have to stop the blockade of Gaza, and one of the ways to do this is for us to continue to send the boats." Berlin disputes the Israeli military's account of the raid that killed 9 people and injured dozens of others. She says the Israelis fired first and that edited footage of the incident released by Israel gives an inaccurate picture of events.
(More Gaza stories.)