Another ship headed to Gaza damaged

GOCEK, Turkey, June 30 (UPI) -- Organizers of a flotilla to Gaza say a second ship was damaged by saboteurs, delaying for several days the humanitarian aid organizers say they're carrying.

Organizers of the Gaza flotilla said the engine on the Irish ship Saoirse was damaged while docked in Turkey.

The Jerusalem Post Thursday reported the latest incident would delay the flotilla's launching by several days. Organizers said the incident caused the expected number of participants to drop from 1,500 to 350. About 10 boats comprise the flotilla.

Flotilla spokesman Dror Feiler said there is no direct proof Israel was involved in the sabotage. He said damage to the ship would be discussed at a news conference.

"This was the type of sabotage that endangered human life," Fintan Lane of the Irish Ship to Gaza organization said in a report by Arutz Sheva.

The flotilla has come under fire by a number of countries, including France, where the foreign ministry strongly denounced the effort.

The flotilla is a "bad idea that is expected only to increase tension and be a source of conflict," the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "Last year's events showed that there is a danger that confrontation will result from these initiatives."

Lane said the damage to the Saoirse was similar to that caused to the Swedish ship Juliano, which flotilla organizers said was sabotaged in the Greek port of Piraeus by "hostile divers."