No one killed onboard the Irene, a 10-metre catamaran involved in the symbolic gesture to bring in small quantities of medicine and other vital supplies, but treatment was brutal by all accounts, including being electrocuted with tasers. The mission follows hard on the heels of the Mavi Marmara which saw nine activists killed in cold blood by the IDF. A fifth Viva Palestina land convoy is currently in Turkey en route to Gaza in addition to more aid boats. Five Israeli activists who attempted to break their country's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip in a boat have been released from police custody, though five others who had been on board the ship are set to be deported. Yonatan Shapira, a former pilot in the Israeli air force, said after being released on Tuesday that Israeli marines who boarded the yacht Irene were "very brutal". "They didn't kill us like they killed other Palestinians and Muslims, but they were very brutal. I got shot with a taser shock gun ..
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