Activist Greta Thunberg Returns To Sailing By Assistance Ship To Gaza Strip

Activist Greta Thunberg was secured by Israeli troops. (Twitter/@IsraelMFA)

JAKARTA - Activist Greta Thunberg returned to sailing on an aid ship for the Gaza Strip departing from Barcelona, Spain on Sunday to penetrate an Israeli blockade, sending aid to the Palestinian enclave.

Thousands of supporters gathered at Barcelona ports to release the ships, many of whom raised the Palestinian flag and chanted "Free Palestine" and "This is not war, this is genocide".

"It is a mission to challenge an international system that is very harsh and as usual, which fails to enforce international law," Thunberg told crowds before the departure of a fleet of dozens of ships, which would be followed by other ships along the way.

Earlier, the Swedish activist tried to break through Israel's long-running marine blockade in Gaza in June, before the Israeli military ambushed at sea, leading the ship to ports before deporting activists.

Meanwhile, fleet organizers blamed world leaders for failing to pressure Israel into allowing aid to pass after global hunger monitors said some Gazaan territories were suffering from starvation.

The fleet will join more ships departing from Greece, Italy and Tunisia, said Yasemin Acar, a member of the steering committee.

At Genoa port in northwestern Italy, about 250 metric tons of food for Gaza have been collected from groups and local residents, organizers said.

Part of the aid was loaded aboard a ship departing from Genoa on Sunday, while the rest would be sent to Catania port in Sicily, where other ships would depart for Gaza on September 4.

Israel argues the blockade imposed since 2007 is necessary to stop arms smuggling into the Hamas militant group and calls other attempts to break it down - including what Thunberg did in June - as a propaganda act to support Hamas.