A group of 21 international activists left the Cypriot port of Larnaca on Monday morning for Gaza on a small boat carrying medicine and other humanitarian supplies.

Last year, the pro-Palestinian Free Gaza Movement successfully challenged the Israeli embargo on Hamas-controlled Gaza five times, landing the first international ships in the Gaza port since 1967.

However, their attempts earlier this year failed, either due to technical problems or the Israeli blockade.

According to Huwaida Arraf, spokeswoman for the US-based Free Gaza Movement, the Israeli authorities now once again threatened to bar them from entering Gaza.

The ship is carrying three tons of medical aid, toys and rehabilitation and reconstruction kits for 20 families, while the passengers aboard include Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire and former US congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.

The boat, if not turned back by the Israeli navy, is expected to reach Gaza on Tuesday afternoon.

(Xinhua News Agency June 30, 2009)