Sat 7th August: The IDF fired at a Lebanese fishing boat that was sailing in a restricted zone Saturday night, after a warning to return to Lebanese waters was ignored.

No injuries were reported as a result of the incident.

The Lebanese army issued a statement in response to the incident, stating that Israel “continues” to violate UN Resolution 1701, and that the IDF fired shots into Lebanese territorial waters.

The IDF confirmed that it fired “warning shots” when the boat did not heed a request to leave the restricted area.

The incident occurred just days after fatal border clashes between IDF and LAF forces last Tuesday left one Israeli and four Lebanese dead.

Sun 8th August: A “women-only” ship, complete with a nun and a heavily pregnant mother, has cleared political and technical obstacles and is set to sail for Gaza, presenting Israel with a new challenge. The ship is supposed to leave Tripoli by Sunday night, its co-coordinator, Hizbullah-backer Samar al-Hajj, told the London Guardian.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev told Israel National News, “There are no limits on goods going to Gaza, and any ships trying to bring so-called aid to Gaza will be regarded as provocations.”

The sight of women—supposedly unarmed—facing Israeli naval commandos trying to stop it from breaking the sea embargo on Hamas-controlled Gaza faces Israel with a new public relations challenge. The women have dramatized possible violence by preparing to travel equipped with blood test equipment  “in case we come under attack from Israel and you need a blood transfusion,” al-Hajj said.
She added, “We will not even bring cooking knives” in order to prevent accusations that they are armed.

The sailing of the Mariam has been carefully geared for public consumption. Besides the nun and a pregnant woman, the crew includes Christians and Muslims, and the ship has been named after the Virgin Mary.

Israel has warned that allowing ships, even those with aid, to reach the Gaza coast would set a precedent that would allow Hamas to freely import advanced weapons.

Israel is being taunted and pushed to respond in order to bring the world against her yet again- Ed.

Much of the so-called aid sent to Gaza in order to “break the siege” is worse than useless, Gaza officials said in a recent interview with Al-Jazeera that was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). Officials estimated that 30% of the medicines and medical equipment sent can be put to use.

The rest is sent to local landfills where, in the absence of any organized form of waste disposal, it is left to seep into the ground and cause serious environmental damage. “Even if the sick are spared this medicine, the environment will definitely not be spared their perils, and catastrophic effects above and below the ground,” the Al-Jazeera journalist noted.

One country sent 10 trucks of aid and an official delegation to Gaza, officials related. All of the medicines aboard were found to be out of date and unsafe.

Other countries sent dialysis machines – but only after they had been used for all of the recommended hours, and were no longer recommended for use.

Gaza health officials were angered by one donation in particular, a shipment of burial shrouds received from Arab nations. “It is deplorable that our Arab brothers are sending burial shrouds for the children of Gaza,” one said.

Their outrage could be considered surprising in light of the fact that Hamas officials have publicly complained of a shortage of burial shrouds, and have made a show of wrapping bodies in flags instead.

Al-Jazeera’s report of aid that has become “a burden rather than a blessing” matches Israeli findings regarding “aid” shipments aboard boats that attempted to defy the naval blockade of Hamas. Much of the equipment and supplies aboard a recent flotilla was found to be unusable, a finding that strengthened suspicions that the flotilla’s goals were not truly of a humanitarian nature.

Thanks to Israel Today; ICEJ; MEMRI; JP