Pro-Palestinian flotilla sails towards showdown with Israel

HUNDREDS of pro-Palestinian activists yesterday set sail for the Gaza Strip from international waters off the coast of Cyprus, edging closer to an expected naval showdown with Israeli gunships determined to stop them.

Huwaida Arraf, one of the organisers, said the six-ship flotilla began the journey toward Gaza yesterday afternoon after two days of delays. She said they expected to reach Gaza, about 250 miles (400km) away, this afternoon, and that two more ships are expected to follow in “a second wave”.

She said the flotilla was “fully prepared for the different scenarios” that might arise, and organisers were hopeful that Israeli authorities would “do what’s right” and not stop the convoy.