On Board the Mavi Marmara: Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists on seven ships are prepared to set sail for the Gaza Strip from international waters close to Cyprus, edging closer to an expected naval showdown as Israeli officials warned they would halt the flotilla from reaching the blockaded territory.
The ships are expected to reach Gaza on Monday, organisers said.
Greta Berlin, one of the Freedom Flotilla's coordinators, said the ships briefly set sail early on Sunday from Cyprus, but then stopped after moving about 40 kilometres to finish loading passengers.
"There's no way they'll get there before Monday morning," she said.
The flotilla of seven ships are carrying thousands of tons of supplies, including materials that Israel prevents from reaching Gaza freely, like cement and other building materials.
The last ship on the Freedom Flotilla that is expected at the meeting point before the ships set sail for Gaza is on its way to rendezvous with the other ships after the North Cyprus government agreed to let its passengers exit from its territory.
The Freedom Flotilla had faced further delays earlier Saturday as a decision by the Cypriot government to bar activists from using its territory to embark on the mission had left the activists stranded there.
The government of North Cyprus agreed Friday to let activists stranded in south Cyprus to leave from its territory after the government in the south banned any activity related to the Freedom Flotilla, one of the organisers said.
On Friday, the activists tried to leave Cyprus on smaller vessels to meet the Turkish passenger ship the Mavi Marmara in international waters but were turned back by the authorities.
"Anything related to the trip to Gaza is not permitted," said Cyprus police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos.
The flotilla is now waiting for one more ship, carrying two teams, to arrive. On Friday, 14 passengers on the Greek ship, the Challenger II, were transferred to the Mavi Marmara after the Challenger II's steering wheel failed to function. A few hours later, the Challenger I faced the same problem.
"The steering wheel on both boats failed, which led the boats to sway left and right. It happened two to three hours apart. I don't think this is a coincidence," said Lubna Masarwa, member of the board of directors of the Free Gaza Movement which is part of the coalition that has organised the flotilla.
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The Challenger I then sailed to Cyprus with 10 passengers, including lawmakers from Greece, Germany and Norway and two prominent French Personalities, where it was expected to pick up eight more passengers.
"Cyprus is not even allowing Challenger I passengers to come off their boat, letalone fix the boat," she said.
Free Gaza Movement is a Cyprus registered organisation.
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Organisers are appealing to the Turkish government to get the group out via a Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus port.
They have taken precautions against possible Israeli action, devising scenarios and acting accordingly. One scenario includes the Israeli navy attempting to target the ships individually as they sailed to the meeting point. The flotilla this changed its course as well as the meeting point.
The flotilla is expected to wait a maximum of two days before sailing to Gaza. The high profile personalities are expected to give the flotilla vital leverage over Israel, in case it chooses to take violent action against it.
It is expected to sail to Gaza without the Irish boat the MV Rachel Corrie, which will sail there later. That leaves an expected five of the nine ships sailing to Gaza with the Freedom Flotilla. While the number of ships has been reduced, the cargo has not. Most passengers, too, are on course on the Mavi Marmara.
The flotilla is expected to set sail towards Gaza on Sunday.
With additional inputs from agencies
