Israel has seized a Lebanese ship bound for Gaza with 60 tons of aid, Al Jazeera English reports. It states that the Israeli Navy first fired on the ship, which had an Al Jazeera correspondent aboard.
Al Jazeera's correspondent aboard the Al-Ikhwa (The Brotherhood) ship said the navy first opened fire, then five Israeli soldiers boarded the ship, beating and threatening the passengers.
"They are pointing guns against us - they are kicking us and beating us. They are threatening our lives," Al Jazeera's Salam Khoder said.
The Israel Defense Forces deny firing on the ship and say that an arms smuggler was aboard, reports Haaretz.
Military sources said that on board the vessel - dubbed the "Brotherhood Ship" - were nine people, including Greek-Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem Monsignor Hilarion Capucci, who was arrested in 1974 after caught smuggling weapons from Lebanon to activists in the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Capuccini was sentenced to 12 years in prison, but was released after three years upon a papal request to the Israeli government. He has made frequent anti-Israel comments since his release. The IDF said that naval forces had intercepted the ship after its crew had disregarded warnings to steer clear of Gazan coastal waters, but denied reports that troops had fired shots at the crew or the vessel during the operation.
Haaretz also reports that the Israeli army said it will question the detained crew and transfer any humanitarian goods on the ship to the Gaza Strip.
Israel Defense Minister Ehud Barak told AFP Israel was escorting the ship to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
"At first the ship understood we were prohibiting it from heading to Gaza and steered towards El-Arish," in Egypt, Barak said.
"From Egyptian territorial waters it tried to slip into Gaza waters. That is when the Israeli navy boarded it, and it is now taking it to Ashdod," he said.
AFP also reports that Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has called on the international community to pressure Israel to allow the ship to reach Gaza.