Turkish ship carrying aid to Gaza reaches Israeli port

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency says a ship carrying over 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip has reached the Israeli port of Ashdod.

The vessel Lady Leyla set sail late Friday from the Turkish city Mersin. Anadolu said Sunday it docked in Ashdod after a 35-hour journey.

The ship is carrying food, toys, clothes and shoes, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority. The delivery comes before the start of Eid al-Fitr, one of Islam’s major holidays.

A six-year political fissure between Turkey and Israel ended last week when the two countries agreed to normalize ties. Relations had imploded in 2010 after an Israeli naval raid killed nine Turks on board an aid ship trying to breach Israel’s blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Source: AP