In addition to the sea and land convoy anounced by Viva Palestina and the International Committee to Break the Siege, and the initiative from the Lebanon , a small group of Jewish activists in Germany are organising an aid boat too. A group of a dozen German Jews has set up an organisation called "Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East" and now wants to sail to Gaza in its own small ship... ...On board they will have a cargo of schoolbags, which were donated by schools in Berlin and the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, musical instruments, and fishing equipment such as outboard motors and fishing nets. "We only have a small boat, which is why we can only take a small amount of largely symbolic items," explains Katzenstein-Leiterer... ...According to Katzenstein-Leiterer, the blockade is completely illegal and goes against all international conventions. But breaking the blockade is not the only objective of this group of German Jews. Says Katzenste
Until now, the besieged Gaza Strip has stayed free of the novel coronavirus spreading across the world. As the Gaza Strip has been under a stringent Israeli-led blockade for nearly 13 years, the spread of the coronavirus - officially known as COVID-19 - has become the topic of discussion for many Palestinians, with some joking that the blockade was preventing them from being exposed.But as authorities in the coastal Palestinian enclave gear up to contain any potential outbreak, serious questions have arisen about the risks and implications of such a scenario. But given its already difficult humanitarian situation and high population density, an outbreak in the Gaza Strip could prove to be catastrophic, health officials have warned. "If the virus enters Gaza and spreads, it will get out of hand," Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson Majdi Thuhair told Middle East Eye, as he explained that a severe shortage of resources and personnel would make it near impossible