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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Asia 1 aid ship for Gaza eyes Egypt's OK

Tue Dec 28, 2010

Asia's first aid ship for Gaza Strip, which seeks to break the Israeli siege of the impoverished coastal sliver, is prepared to depart for the Egyptian port of El Arish.

The Sierra Leone-flagged Asia 1, which is currently docked at the Syrian port of Latakia, awaits the green light from Egyptian authorities before setting sail to El Arish where its cargo is to be carried over land to Gaza, reports indicate.

The "Asia to Gaza Solidarity Caravan" started its journey in the Indian capital, New Delhi. It has passed through Iran, Turkey, Lebanon and Syria so far.

The Gaza-bound vessel will carry one million dollars worth of medicine, foodstuffs and toys.

Fifteen countries are participating in the convoy which started from India, making its way through Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Syria. They plan to enter the enclave on December 28 after traveling through Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.

The coastal strip has been under a crippling Israeli siege since June 2007.

Some 40 percent of the 1.5 million impoverished people of Gaza are jobless as Israel imposed the siege on the sliver since June 2007.

The embargo persists while Gaza is far from recovering from the December 2008-January 2009 Israeli war that claimed the lives of over 1,400 Palestinians, inflicting a damage of above $1.6 billion on the enclave's economy.

The United Nations recently expressed concern that more than 80 percent of people of Gaza depend on relief supplies for survival.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/157491.html.

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