Türkiye is to send at least three ships carrying humanitarian aid and activists to the blockaded Gaza Strip.

However, “it has been stranded in Turkey due to administrative roadblocks, as organisers say Israel has been exerting political pressure to impede the voyage. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said Israel was pressuring the Republic of Guinea Bissau to withdraw its flag from its lead ship, the Akdeniz, which triggered a request for an additional inspection by the flag state” Aljazeera said.

The voyage is expected to take them from Istanbul to Antalya, to Cyprus and Gaza, over a week or more.

There is no public plan for what happens when they arrive.

The ‘International Freedom Flotilla’ comes 14 years after a similar initiative ended in bloodshed in the Mediterranean.

That flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli military and several activists were killed.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition began in 2010 and includes many member groups as well as groups in Gaza – Turkish aid agency Humanitarian Relief Foundation says the ships will carry 5500 tons of aid, and activists from 30 nations, including the daughter of Che Guevara and Nelson Mandela’s grandson.

Türkiye has so far sent aid to Gaza through Egypt.

Aljazeera.