A group of women will try to reach Gaza on Wednesday in a bid to break Israel’s naval blockade of the coastal enclave, a spokeswoman said Tuesday, according to AFP.
The women’s flotilla, made up of two sailing boats, left in mid September from the Spanish city of Barcelona.
The passengers include Swedish European Parliament Member Malin Bjork and Dr Fouzia Hassan of Malaysia.
15 women will try to breach the blockade aboard the Zaytouna-Oliva boat early on Wednesday, spokeswoman Claude Leotic told AFP.
"But we fear there will be an Israeli attack" to prevent the boat from reaching Gaza's shores, she added.
Last time the Women's Boat to Gaza attempted to enter Gaza in 2015, the Israeli navy boarded and took over its vessel, Marianne. The boat was taken to the Israeli city of Ashdod to have its contents inspected.
Israeli media, quoting unnamed officials, reported in recent days that the navy will intercept the boat and escort it to the Israeli port of Ashdod to prevent it from reaching Gaza.
The women’s initiative is one of several recent attempts to break Israel's naval blockade on Gaza, which a UN team has said is completely legal.
The first, and perhaps most famous flotilla, was the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla. When the ships taking part refused to stop and turn to the Ashdod port, IDF soldiers boarded it, upon which they were assaulted by the "humanitarian" activists wielding knives, iron bars and other lethal weapons.
The soldiers were forced to open fire to save their lives, killing ten of their assailants and sparking an international media backlash.
Despite the supposed "humanitarian" aims of the effort, Israel found the flotilla in fact was not carrying any humanitarian aid, or any other type of supplies for that matter.