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Source:  Jerusalem Post

Photo: AP

An IDF Navy unit took over a ship that was en route to breaking the naval closure on the Gaza Strip, the IDF said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

International activists cover boxes of medical supplies to protect them from the rain aboard a boat before setting sail for Gaza from the Cypriot port of Larnaca, Monday.

After the Navy contacted the ship and realized it was headed to Gaza, the troops clarified that the Strip is under naval closure and that because of security concerns it will not be allowed to reach the beach of Gaza.

The ship, named Arion and referred to by the Free Gaza movement which sponsored its trip as the Spirit of Humanity, continued sailing to Gaza despite the Navy’s warnings, and after refusing to heed consecutive calls not to sail to the Strip, Navy troops mounted the ship and navigated it to the Ashdod port.

The Arion’s crew and passengers will be transferred over to relevant authorities, the military statement said.

The IDF added that any entity wishing to transfer humanitarian aid can do so through land crossings, after coordinating with the relevant Israeli authorities.

The Cypriot Embassy in Tel Aviv issued a statement following the incident, saying “The Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Israel would like to inform that the “Spirit of Humanity” boat, sponsored by the Free Gaza Movement, that attempted in the early hours today to reach Gaza was given permission by the competent Authorities of the Republic of Cyprus to sail off the port of Larnaca in Cyprus on the basis of its declaration that its intended destination was the port of Port Said in Egypt.”