Israelis halt ship carrying aid toward Gaza

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Israeli warships halted a ship laden with 50 tons of aid for Gaza about 20 miles off the territory's coast Wednesday, an activist said.

The Lebanese Fraternity was halted at 8:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. ET), said the Lebanese aid coordinator, Maan Bashur.

The cargo included medical equipment, food and toys, he said.

The ship's nine passengers included six Lebanese activists and a Lebanese religious man, a British activist and a Palestinian religious man, he said.

The Israelis warned that any continuation by the Togo-flagged ship of its journey would break international law, Bashur said. Accompanying the Israeli ships were two Israeli helicopters.

In a separate incident, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency condemned the confiscation Tuesday by Palestinian police of more than 3,500 blankets and 400 food parcels from a distribution center in Gaza and demanded its return.

"This took place after UNRWA staff had earlier refused to hand over the aid supplies to the Hamas-run Ministry of Social Affairs," the agency said in a written statement. "The police subsequently broke into the warehouse and seized the aid by force."

The aid was to have been distributed to 500 area families, it said.

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