UPDATED Gaza Latest: Is Aid Ship On Its Way or Going Back to Egypt?

UPDATE 1930 GMT: Al Jazeera reports that the ship "now appears bound for the Egyptian port of El-Arish, on the Sinai peninsula. The Israeli navy warned the vessel on Tuesday to change course, and said it had 'begun preparations for stopping the ship'."

UPDATE: The Amalthea has now reportedly changed course back to el-Arish in Egypt. Its location can be tracked through a map on Electronic Intifada.

The tale of the Amalthea, the ship laden with aid for Gaza, has gone through literal twists and turns today. One of the ship's owners, Greek businessman Aleksei Angeolopoulos, said in an interview with the Arabic newspaper Ashraq al-Awsat that Amalthea would unload its humanitarian goods in the Egyptian port of el-Arish if permission to reach Gaza was denied. However, in the afternoon, the ship refused to alter its destination when it was confronted by an Israeli vessel which ordered to dock in Egypt's el-Arish port.

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Stating that the ship was carrying only humanitarian materials, Angeolopoulos said:

If Israel wants, the Israeli navy is invited to board the ship and to search it so that they can see with their own eyes that it is only carrying food and allow it to continue to the port of Gaza.

The ship is planning to reach Gaza on Wednesday.