Canadians plan to break Gaza blockade

A group of activists say they will use a boat to bring humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip next spring.

A group named the Canadian Boat to Gaza announced yesterday that it has raised a third of the $300,000 it will need to sail to the Palestinian territory next year. The source of the money, most of which will be spent purchasing a boat, was not disclosed. Gaza has been under an Israeli blockade since the militant group Hamas won Palestinian elections in 2007. In May nine Turkish activists who attempted to breach the blockade by sea were killed when Israeli soldiers boarded their ship and a skirmish broke out. The Canadian group says it will not resist Israeli use of force should they be boarded.