Israel deported activists from an aid ship it intercepted in the Mediterranean en route from Lebanon to the Gaza Strip, but allowed blood donations that were on board to enter Gaza on Friday, the Israeli military said. Meanwhile, Gaza militants launched two rockets into Israel, the Israeli military said, causing no injuries but punctuating the fragility of a Gaza ceasefire nearly three weeks after the end of Israel's offensive against Hamas. The aid ship was docked Friday at the Ashdod port, where it was towed Thursday after being stopped and boarded by Israeli troops. Israel and Lebanon are officially at war, and Israel said it was concerned about the ship's cargo and called the boat a “provocation.” Israel, which is enforcing a naval blockade aimed at Gaza's Hamas rulers, has allowed several similar aid ships into Gaza and has turned several more back, but had never before boarded or detained one. Fifteen of the people on board, Lebanese and Syrian nationals, were deported overnight to Lebanon and Syria through Israel's borders with those two countries, the military said. Three others - two Indians and a Briton - remained in police custody pending deportation from Israel's international airport, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. It was not immediately clear when the boat would be allowed to sail. Some 1,000 units of donated blood were quickly unloaded and sent into Gaza, according to military spokesman Peter Lerner. The rest of the supplies on board were being examined and would also be sent to Gaza, he said. Despite Israeli concerns, no weapons were found on board.
