Flotilla carrying aid and activists to Gaza departs Tunisia

An international activist flotilla seeking to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza left Tunisia on Saturday, after a stopover in the North African country marked by weather delays and suspected drone attacks.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, which includes Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, is aiming to sail Gaza with around 20 boats, carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza.

The activists group planned to stop in Tunis for other boats to join. The group said their vessels were attacked on both Monday and Tuesday night last week by drones that dropped projectiles which caused fires on the boats.

The flotilla was moved to Bizerte on Thursday.

Many of the Tunisian boats were unable to continue on, facing technical difficulties and unable to get to Bizerte from the port town of Sidi Bou Said near Tunis.

Rana Hamida, a Palestinian commanding one of the vessels, said the events at the Sidi Bou Said port did not deter her.

"We're not scared,” she said. “Just remember, the purpose of attacks like this is to deflate the energy of the people and to distract people, and to shake them. What it actually does is that it brings people together."