Gaza aid ship turned away

A LIBYAN aid ship trying to break Israel's Gaza blockade was docking in an Egyptian port last night after changing course in the Mediterranean Sea, bringing an end to the latest challenge to Israel's embargo of the seaside strip.

The Moldovan-flagged Amalthea headed to Egypt's El Arish port, trailed by warships, an Israeli official said.

Israel had vowed to turn away or seize the Amalthea - renamed "Hope" by activists - rather than let it access Gaza, whose Islamist Hamas rulers the Jewish state wants isolated.