An international humanitarian convoy known as “Miles of Smiles 26” has headed toward the besieged Gaza Strip to break the blockade imposed on Palestinians by the Israeli government.
According to a government committee in charge of breaking the siege in Gaza, the human rights solidarity convoy is scheduled to reach the coastal strip on Sunday, April 20, through the Rafah crossing.
The convoy includes over 30 activists from Arab and European countries.
The deputy chairman of the committee, Aladdin al-Battah, said the convoy will be taking humanitarian aid and medical materials to hospitals in Gaza.
On January 8, the "Miles of Smiles 24" arrived in the besieged area through the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt. Only seven of the 127 activists were allowed into Gaza.
Over the past few years, the Miles of Smiles convoy has delivered humanitarian supplies to Palestinians in the impoverished region, defying the Israeli blockade.
Since the December 2008-January 2009 war that Israel imposed on Gaza, several convoys have successfully managed to break the Israeli blockade.
The Gaza Strip has been suffering under an all-out land, aerial, and naval blockade imposed by the Israeli government since 2007.
The siege has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the enclave, turning the territory into the world’s largest open-air prison.
Tel Aviv denies about 1.7 million people in Gaza their basic rights such as freedom of movement, access to jobs that pay proper wages, adequate healthcare, and education.
