Natural blockade: Activist flotilla to Gaza foiled by stormy weather

A flotilla of dozens of boats that had set sail for Gaza on Sunday carrying “aid” and pro-Palestinian activists, including controversial campaigner Greta Thunberg, has returned to port in Barcelona due to stormy weather, organisers said on Monday.

"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 winds had been up to around 56 kilometres per hour.

The organizers did not say when they planned to resume the journey.

Activist influencers including actor Liam Cunningham are on the flotilla of several dozen boats that is aiming to break Israel's naval blockade.

Israel has argued that the naval blockade it imposed in 2007 is necessary to stop weapons being smuggled to the Hamas Palestinian terrorist group. It has described other attempts to break it - including one that included Thunberg in June - as a propaganda stunt in support of Hamas.

(Reporting by Charlie Devereux Editing by Andrei Khalip and Frances Kerry)