Aid Flotilla to Gaza returns to Barcelona amid stormy weather

An aid flotilla carrying humanitarian supplies and pro-Palestinian activists, including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, has returned to port in Barcelona due to stormy weather, organisers said on September 1.

The flotilla had set sail for Gaza on August 31, Caliber.Az reports via Reuters. 

"We conducted a sea trial and then returned to port to allow the storm to pass. This meant delaying our departure to avoid risking complications with the smaller boats," the Global Sumud Flotilla Mission said in a statement, adding that winds had reached up to around 35 mph (56 kph).

The organisers did not specify when the journey would resume.

The flotilla, which includes several dozen boats and activists such as Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham, aims to break Israel's naval blockade and deliver food and humanitarian aid to Gaza, an enclave devastated by nearly two years of conflict.

Israel maintains that the naval blockade, imposed in 2007, is necessary to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas, the Palestinian militant group. It has characterized previous attempts to break the blockade—including one in June that included Thunberg—as a propaganda stunt in support of Hamas.

By Sabina Mammadli