From the Irish Times CELEBRATED IRISH travel writer Dervla Murphy is to join Irish activists taking part in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla due to sail at the end of March. Ms Murphy (78) will sail on a 25-passenger boat recently acquired by Irish activists planning to participate in the multinational flotilla, which is expected to begin its voyage on March 30th. Several Irish politicians including Fianna Fáil TD Chris Andrews and his party colleague Senator Mark Daly, Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh and People Before Profit councillor Richard Boyd Barrett have also pledged their participation. Ms Murphy contacted Dr Fintan Lane of the Free Gaza Movement and the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign last week. “I asked if there was room on the boat because I would very much like to go,” she told The Irish Times . “I feel so strongly about the whole situation in Gaza, and I think the flotilla is a good way of drawing international attention to what is going on there. more
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