Blast sinks Gaza\\\'s Ark protest boat

Gaza's Ark, a Palestinian-built protest boat which was preparing to run Israel's naval blockade of the territory, was badly damaged in an explosion on Tuesday that organisers blamed on Israel. The blast in Gaza City port struck at around 3:45 am (00045 GMT) and was preceded by an anonymous telephone call warning the guard that the vessel was about to be blown up, organisers said. The ship, a large fishing vessel which was being readied to put to sea in June, sustained major damage and sunk in the shallow waters of the port, leaving three-quarters of it submerged. "An anonymous caller phoned the guard and told him to leave because they were planning to destroy the boat. He was very afraid and ran away," project manager Mahfouz Kabariti said, according to AFP.