First ship left Iran Sunday, another leaves this week
* Iran says will continue until Gaza blockade lifted
* 100,000 Iranians volunteer to help the Gazans
(Adds parliamentarians aim to visit Gaza; context)
By Robin Pomeroy
TEHRAN, June 14 (Reuters) – Iran is sending aid ships to blockaded Gaza, state radio said on Monday — a move likely to be considered provocative by Israel which accuses Tehran of arming the Palestinian enclave’s Islamist rulers, Hamas.
One ship left port on Sunday and another will depart by Friday, loaded with food, construction material and toys, the report said. “Until the end of (Israel’s) Gaza blockade, Iran will continue to ship aid,” said an official at Iran’s Society for the Defence of the Palestinian Nation.
Iran has sent aid to the coastal territory in the past via Egypt. It was not immediately clear if the latest shipments would do the same, or try to dock in Gaza itself.
Reuters