Iran says ship full of humanitarian supplies turned away by Israel Navy off coast of Gaza By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondent
The Israel Navy on Tuesday turned away an Iranian ship that was attempting to dock in Gaza in order to deliver humanitarian supplies to the residents of the coastal territory, Iranian radio reported.
Iran radio said that the ship departed from Iran 13 days ago carrying 200 tons of food and medical supplies.
The Israel Defense Forces spokesman said they had received no report of such an incident.
On Monday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said an Iranian ship had passed through the Suez Canal. On Tuesday, Iran radio aired an interview with Ahmed Nabad, said to be the ship's captain, who said the ship had neared the coast of Gaza but "the Zionist regime is blocking its entry."
When Nabad was asked if there is another route by which the ship could reach Gaza, he said the only other option was to dock in Egypt and deliver the supplies by way of the Rafah crossing.
Nabad added that senior officials in Teheran have contacted Egyptian officials to ask them for permission to deliver the aid by way of Egyptian territory.
JAN 14 FACTBOX + VIDEO War on Gaza: Aljazeera January 14, 2009 ..
FACTBOX - Developments in Gaza fighting on January 14 Wed Jan 14, 2009 11:13am GMT
(Reuters) - Following are developments in the fighting in the Gaza Strip as of 10:30 a.m. British time:
(* Denotes new or updated items)
* GAZA - An Israeli tank shell killed two Palestinian women civilians in the northern Gaza Strip, medical workers said.
* GAZA - An Israeli air strike killed 2 militants of the Popular Resistance Committees as they rode on a motorcycle in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical officials said.
* OFF GAZA COAST - Israel ordered an Iranian naval vessel carrying aid to the Gaza Strip to leave as it approached the area, denying it permission to dock, the semi-official Iranian Fars News Agency said. An Israeli military spokesman confirmed Israel had ordered the boat to leave under its naval blockade of Gaza, and that the Iranian ship had turned away.
* NORTHERN ISRAEL - Three Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanon exploded inside northern Israel, causing no injuries, police said. Israeli artillery fired into Lebanon in response and Israeli warplanes flew overhead, witnesses said. There were no claims of responsibility from Lebanon.
* GAZA - Israeli warplanes bombed 60 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip before dawn, the Israeli army said. The targets included a Hamas security headquarters, rocket launching sites, weapons storage depots and 35 tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.
Palestinians said 16 houses were bombed in the city of Gaza.
* GAZA - The Palestinian death toll in the offensive since December 27 reached 975, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said. The Health Minister of the Hamas-run government says nearly 400 of the dead are women and children.
* SOUTHERN ISRAEL - Palestinian militants fired several rockets and mortar bombs into southern Israel, Israeli media reported.
* ISRAEL - Israel's death toll since the offensive began is 10 soldiers, while three civilians were killed by rocket and mortar fire from the Gaza Strip. Six soldiers were wounded in combat early Wednesday, the Israeli military said. (Jerusalem Newsroom)
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