Beirut- Israeli gunboats have turned a Lebanese ship carrying medical supplies, food, clothing and toys away from the blockaded Gaza Strip, one of the organisers of the shipment said on Thursday.
"Two Israeli gunboats intercepted the ship on Wednesday night while it was in international waters trying to reach territorial waters in northern Palestine," Maen Bashur said.
"The ship was asked to turn back as two Israeli military helicopters flew over the area and fired flares. The aid boat moved away, but it has been trying since early Thursday to reach Gaza through Egyptian territorial waters."
Prime Minister Fuad Siniora called on the international community to press Israel to allow the ship to reach the war-battered Palestinian territory.
On board the "Brotherhood Ship" were eight people including the former Greek-Catholic archbishop of Jerusalem, Monsignor Hilarion Capucci, who left Jerusalem in the 1970s after serving time in an Israeli jail for membership of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
The Togolese-registered Tali had passed through the nearby Mediterranean island of Cyprus where authorities inspected the cargo before heading for Gaza.