Activist boats allowed into Gaza despite Israeli blockade

Gaza CIity: Two boats carrying 44 pro-Palestinian activists from Cyprus arrived in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.

Israel allowed them through despite its tight blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory.

The two boats set sail from Cyprus early on Friday in a bid to break Israel's 14-month blockade of Gaza and to deliver 200 hearing aids to a Palestinian charity.

The boats carried 46 activists from 14 countries, and included an 81-year-old nun and the sister-in-law of Middle East ambassador Tony Blair.

The activists hoped to draw attention to the blockade of Gaza which has been ruled by the Islamist Hamas movement since June 2007.

The boats sailed through choppy grey waters and into Gaza City's main port, where they were greeted by around 2,000 people waving Palestinian flags, many of them motoring around the harbour in boats.

Israel had initially warned the activists to stay away from Gaza's coastal waters but later allowed them to pass, hours after the crew said their communications systems had been jammed as they sailed through stormy seas.

Angela Godfrey-Goldstein, a Jerusalem-based spokeswoman for the so-called Free Gaza Movement which organised the event, said the boats' communications systems had been attacked by "electronic piracy" earlier in the day.

"We are not experienced sailors. As a result, there is concern about the health and safety of the people on board (should) an emergency develop," the crew said in a message, according to Godfrey-Goldstein.

Israel has earlier called the mission an unacceptable provocation and said all options were under consideration.

"We are following the development and if they are looking for a provocation, we will know how to to avoid it," said Arye Merkel, a Foreign Ministry spokesman.