Hamas: More flotillas are Gaza bound

A senior member of the Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas says more aid ships will head towards the blockaded Gaza Strip over the next two months.

At least eight ships will set sail from the Persian Gulf countries, Mahmoud al-Zahar said in an interview with the Independent published on Monday.

The Hamas leader, who spoke from the coastal sliver, did not name the states involved in the new mission.

Zahar also said that he expected further vessels to set out for Gaza during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, which begins on 11 August this year.

He made the remarks as a Lebanese aid convoy is preparing to set sail for the Gaza Strip.

Lebanese authorities granted permission for one of the two ships, the Julia, to sail to Cyprus and then to Gaza. With Lebanon and Israel technically still at war, the ship cannot directly sail for the Gaza Strip.

The ships, which have been organized by the Free Palestine Movement, would be carrying humanitarian supplies for the besieged people of Gaza.

The 1.5 million people of Gaza have been under the Israeli blockade since 2007 and are in dire need of basic humanitarian supplies.

Last month, a Turkish-led Gaza-bound aid convoy, the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which was carrying thousands of tons of relief to the region, was stormed by the Israeli forces.

The attack on May 31 left at least nine activists dead and dozens others injured in international waters.