A Turkish ferry is joining a humanitarian mission to test the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.
The 1,500–passenger Mavi Marmara (built 1994) is being sponsored by Turkey's Islamic and pro-Palestinian rights group, The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH).
It left Istanbul on Saturday to cheers from thousands of locals, and will join the Freedom Flotilla of passenger and cargo vessels seeking to break Israel’s four-year-old embargo.
The
