Special report: Palestine-Israel Conflicts         

    JERUSALEM, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Israel said Tuesday that its naval vessel rammed a boat of international rights activists which sailed from Cyprus late on Monday.

    An Israeli vessel "clashed with" the small cabin cruiser "Dignity" carrying a shipment of medical aid that tried to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip, said an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman.

    The boat failed to respond to Israeli naval radio contact, according to the spokesman.

    Israeli military radio reported that the boat, the Dignity, was ordered to turn around, and warning shots were fired across its bow, but the 20-meter vessel nevertheless tried to navigate around the patrol boat which blocked its passage.

    There were no reported casualties from the incident, but both vessels suffered damage, according to media reports.

    International rights activists will sail with a "Free Gaza Movement" ship to make a "symbolic" attempt to cross the border into the Gaza Strip on an emergency mission to help ease the suffering of the Palestinians in the coastal area, according to a coordinator of the movement on Monday.

    The coordinator, Caiomhe Butterly, told Xinhua on phone that the activists including some doctors and journalists had boarded the ship at the Cypriot port of Larnaca late Monday afternoon.

    Gaza's nine hospitals were overwhelmed on Monday - more than 1,400 were wounded in over three days of fighting.

    According to Butterly, on board the ship, three to four tons of urgently needed medical supplies including bandages, splints and rubber gloves are destined for the shores of Gaza.

    The Free Gaza Movement first made the crossing in August to highlight the plight of the impoverished territory's 1.5 million Palestinian residents.