Israeli troops intercept second aid ship heading for Gaza

LONDON - Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip continues, and according to reports, a second ship carrying humanitarian aid from Turkey, has been intercepted.

The “Rachel Corrie” was meant to have travelled with the original six-ship convoy that Israeli commandoes intercepted this week in a botched operation that killed nine people, reports Sky News.

Israel says it has offered the Rachel Corrie free passage to Ashdod where the aid could be offloaded and transferred to Gaza.

Nobel peace prizewinner Mairead Corrigan, who is on board, said earlier Israel had not yet contacted the ship and it would not accept its offer anyway.

However, she said the passengers would not resist Israeli forces should they choose to intercept them. They would sit on the deck with their hands in the air, she said.

The ship is named after US peace activist Rachel Corrie who was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer, accidentally says Israel, in Gaza in 2003.

Groups in Turkey are said to be planning a new aid flotilla in the autumn. (ANI)