Aid ships in new bid to break Gaza blockade

A statement issued by the Freedom Waves group said the mini-flotilla made up of one Irish ship and one Canadian ship had left Fethiye on Turkeys south coast on Wednesday afternoon and planned to arrive in Gaza on Friday.The group said the two boats, the Canadian Tahrir and the Irish Saoirse were carrying 27 people, including journalists and crew members, along with $30,000 worth of medicines.Two civilian boats, the Canadian Tahrir (Liberation), and the Irish Saoirse (Freedom)... are currently in international waters making their way to the beleaguered Gaza Strip to challenge Israels ongoing criminal blockade of the territory, the statement said.We have the wind of public opinion at our back and in our sails, which strengthens our resolve and determination to challenge the illegal blockade of Gazas 1.5 million inhabitants, the Canadian Boat to Gaza organizer Ehab Lotayef said.Activists organised a major attempt to break Israels blockade in May 2010, when a flotilla of ships led by the Turkish Mavi Marmara tried to sail to Gaza.Israeli naval commandos raided the flotilla, killing nine Turkish activists and sparking a diplomatic crisis that culminated earlier this year in Ankara expelling Israels ambassador and suspending military ties with the Jewish state.A second flotilla, dubbed the Freedom Flotilla II, tried to reach Gaza in July, but several ships were sabotaged -- which activists blamed on Israel -- and the final group of boats was intercepted before arriving in Gaza.The organisers of the latest flotilla said they had organised their effort in secret, in a bid to prevent Israeli interference.The Freedom Waves to Gaza organisers chose not to publicise the effort in advance given Israels efforts to block and sabotage Freedom Flotilla II last July, the group said.David Heap on the Canadian ship said they faced economic blackmail, and were forcibly boarded by the Greek Coast Guard en route but persisted into international waters.Also, eleventh hour restrictions by port authorities at their departure meant that only one third of the assembled delegates and media were allowed to embark, he said in a statement released in Canada.