An European aid convoy is expected to arrive in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, Hamas government, which controls the blockaded territory, said on Saturday.

The Convoy of Hope, led by European parliamentarians, is scheduled to arrive in the Egyptian port city of Portsaid Saturday evening and will drive to northern Sinai, which borders Gaza, according to the Hamas governmental committee.

Hamdi Shaath, head of the committee, urged the Egyptian authorities to allow the 40-truck convoy into Gaza through Rafah border crossing.

The 12 lawmakers and the convoy carry medical aids, wheel chairs and programs to enable blind people to use computers, Shaath said.

Israel has imposed a tight blockade on Gaza since 2007 when Hamas routed security forces of moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and seized the coastal Strip.

In January 2009, Israel ended a three-week offensive in Gaza, leaving more than 1,300 Palestinians killed and thousands of houses and public buildings destroyed.

In March, British outspoken MP Gorge Galloway arrived in the Gaza Strip with about 50 volunteers and 100 vehicles carrying aid materials.

(Xinhua News Agency May 24, 2009)