Damaged Palestinian aid ship bound for Lebanon (1st Lead)

Dec 30, 2008, 9:22 GMT

Beirut - A damaged international aid ship operated by the Free Gaza Movement was headed for Lebanese waters Tuesday, following a collision with an Israeli naval vessel in the early hours of the morning as it was bound for the Gaza Strip.

The boat, named 'Dignity', was carrying aid and activists from the Free Gaza Movement, and sailed from Cyprus late Monday.

At around 5 am (0300 GMT) Dignity collided with an Israeli naval vessel some 130 kilometres off the Gaza coastline.

A statement released by the Free Gaza Movement, which has sent a number of ships carrying aid and international activists to Gaza this year to campaign against the siege of that territory, said that the Dignity had been 'attacked' by the Israeli navy, and had been rammed by a gunboat, causing heavy damage.

A subsequent statement by an Israeli military spokesman said that the Israeli vessel had approached the Dignity in an effort to make it turn back, as Gaza had been designated a closed combat zone due to the ongoing military action there, but an abrupt movement by the aid vessel caused a collision.

There were no reported casualties in the incident, which occurred on Tuesday morning. The damaged vessel is now believed to be heading for Lebanese waters.

'There is a problem with the fuel and they are trying to reach the Lebanese southern port city of Tyre,' a Lebanese security source said.

The Dignity had been carrying three tons of medical supplies, as well as three volunteer doctors from Britain, Germany and Cyprus who had volunteered to give aid in Gaza.