A SALE dad was reunited with his family this week, after he returned from a mercy mission to Gaza.

A relieved Raquia Almas welcomed her husband, Almas Ali, home from the month-long trip.

Almas was a member of the 200-strong Viva Palestina convoy that finally achieved its mission of crossing into the war-ravaged region last Wednesday night.

They were greeted as heroes in Gaza, with hundreds of wellwishers cheering them.

Mother-of-three Raquia, aged 38, said: "I am delighted that he is safe and they managed to break the siege of Gaza and take in vitally needed supplies.

"But we are not sure if we will ever get back as the Egyptian authorities have made clear they don't want the convoy on their soil again."

it is the second time Almas, 37, has travelled to Gaza as part of a Viva Palestina aid convoy.

Raquia said: "The conditions in Gaza are still just as bad if not worse."

The final stretch of the journey had turned into a terrifying experience when members of the convoy were injured in clashes with Egyptian police at the port city of Al Arish.

Almas was struck on the legs with a baton during the trouble. After Raquia heard of the violence, she faced an agonising 24-hour wait until she was told her husband was safe.

Property developer Almas and the other convoy members spent 48-hours in Gaza before heading home.

The convoy leader, British MP George Galloway, was deported from Eqypt by the authorities. The action came after he criticised the Egyptians over delays to the aid convoy.