A flotilla bound for Gaza carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists set sail Monday from Tunisia after repeated delays, aiming to break Israel's blockade and deliver aid to the Palestinian territory.
"The fleet that departed Barcelona is already at sea, and the Tunisian boats are now setting sail in stages," the Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement.
"They will converge on the water and continue together to meet the Italian and Greek ships," it added.
At least 18 boats set sail Saturday from Catania in southern Italy, accompanied by a support vessel from the Italian NGO Emergency, according to organisers and Italian media. Another two boats departed Greece on Sunday to join them.
"We are trying to send a message to the people of Gaza that the world has not forgotten about you," Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg said before boarding in Tunisia's northern port of Bizerte.
"When our governments are failing to step up then we have no choice but to take matters into our own hands," she told AFP.
Around 20 boats that had sailed from Barcelona converged in Bizerte, with the last vessels leaving at dawn, an AFP journalist reported.
Yasemin Acar, who helps coordinate the flotilla from the Maghreb, posted images on Instagram of Tunisian boats departing other ports near Tunis in the early hours.
"The blockade of Gaza must end" and "We are leaving for solidarity, dignity and justice", the caption said.
The vessels, which were welcomed by support rallies in Tunisia, had transferred to Bizerte after a turbulent stay in Sidi Bou Said near Tunis.
The Global Sumud Flotilla said two of its boats were targeted by drone attacks on consecutive nights last week.
After the second incident, Tunisian authorities denounced what they called a "premeditated aggression" and announced an investigation.
European Parliament member Rima Hassan, who like Thunberg was detained aboard the Madleen sailboat during an attempt to reach Gaza in June, said she feared further attacks.
"We are preparing for different scenarios," she said, noting the most prominent figures had been split between the two largest coordinating boats "to balance things out and avoid concentrating all the visible personalities on a single vessel".
Israel blocked two earlier attempts by activists to reach Gaza by sea in June and July.
The departure towards famine-hit Gaza had been repeatedly postponed due to security concerns, delays in preparing some of the boats and weather conditions.
Another group of boats left the French island of Corsica on Friday, hoping to participate in another fleet, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which is expected to set sail from Italy by the end of the month.
On Monday, a group of activists in Egypt, which shares the only border with Gaza not controlled by Israel, also announced their support for the Sumud flotilla.
They hope to participate with "one boat that can carry 34 people, donated by a fisherman," coordinator Khaled Basiony told AFP.
In June, Egyptian authorities blocked dozens of international activists intending to take part in the 'Global March to Gaza' to the Rafah border crossing. Many reported being beaten in Egypt, and over 200 activists were detained and deported.
