Viva Palestina sends new Gaza mission

The Viva Palestina charity has sent a new aid convoy, Lifeline 5, to the Gaza Strip despite the likelihood of a new Israeli aggression against the mission.

Part of the aid convoy set sail from London on Saturday and is scheduled to be joined on by other parties on its way to the coastal sliver.

"Well, it's unique actually in two respects. First of all, it will be by far the biggest convoy so far. And secondly it's leaving from three places simultaneously," one of the organizers, former British lawmaker George Galloway, told a Press TV correspondent in London.

"We'll be many hundreds of vehicles strong with, I hope, some 10 million plus dollars worth of aid," he added.

Gaza's 1.5 million residents have also been under an all-out Israeli siege for over three years. The blockade has deprived the Palestinians of food, fuel and other basic necessities.

"As we speak, the convoy is pulling out of Kuwait and will pick up vehicles throughout the Persian Gulf and in through Arabia into Jordan, linking up with a huge contingent from Jordan and driving up to Syria," Galloway said.

"Simultaneously, another group is leaving Casablanca. The Moroccan and Algerian governments have agreed to open the border, which, as you know, is not something that happens everyday," Galloway added.

"And from Algeria to Tunisia, Libya and then a ship from Benghazi to join us in Latakia in Syria, and then this European, North American and Southeast Asian contingent… for we have Malaysians even New Zealanders here from London."

The convoy would leave from Latakia to the port of El-Arish in Egypt.

Earlier in January, the Egyptian riot police injured 55 people in the port during clashes with the high-profile Viva Palestina activists led by Galloway.

Following the tension, Cairo banned all Gaza-bound relief convoys from using its territory, accusing the members of the Viva Palestina mission of committing “criminal” acts in the country.

Cairo cracked down on the aid group after reportedly receiving orders from Tel Aviv.

Israel accuses the Gaza-bound relief missions of "provocation" and has not stop short of confronting them through military attacks.

On May 31, Israeli commandos stormed Freedom Flotilla, a Turkish-backed relief mission, which was seeking to deliver aid to Gazans. The assault, which took place in international waters, killed nine Turkish human rights activists.

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