Gaza war: Activists prepare to defy Israeli naval blockade, to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians

Peace activists from several countries are setting out on a converted trawler to defy an Israeli blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

"The purpose of this mission is to send a message that civil society is not OK with what's happening in Gaza," said Fellipe Lopes, the Portuguese media coordinator of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition on board the ship Handala during a stopover in Malta.

It will be a trip fraught with danger. Another coalition ship on a similar mission to Gaza in 2010 was stopped and boarded by Israeli troops, and nine activists died. Other ships were similarly stopped and boarded, without loss of life.

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"We expect to encounter resistance throughout our mission," said Australian activist Michael Coleman.

"Ours is not an illegal activity in any shape or form. The International Court of Justice has asked them to grant unfettered access to aid into Gaza and I implore them to let us and other aids through immediately," he said.

The Handala was visited in Malta by 78-year-old retired US Army Colonel and diplomat Ann Wright, who was on board another coalition ship boarded by Israeli troops in 2010, in the incident in which nine activists died.

"These people are very brave, because we don't know what's going to happen. If the Israelis stop them, we know it'll be brutal," Wright said.

The brightly coloured Handala carries activists from Italy, France, Norway, Australia, the Netherlands, Syria and a number of Palestinians. It has made several port calls around Scandinavia and the Mediterranean to raise awareness about the situation in Gaza.

• Gazans lose tens of thousands in war, but have few chances to mourn