Two ships set sail on Sunday evening from the Greek island of Syros to join the Global Flotilla Sumud, an international mission aiming to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, AFP journalists reported.

Scanning "Free Palestine," about 500 people gathered at the port of Ermoupoli to send off the two Greek-flagged ships, Oxygen and Electra, carrying goods for famine-stricken Gaza. There are five and eight people on board, respectively.

"This is a way to show Israel that it has no right to impose starvation," Kostas Fourikos, a 39-year-old crew member, told AFP. "And, of course, to send a message of solidarity to the Palestinians, who are suffering so much."

Another crew member, Angeliki Savantoglou, said the flotilla aims to "put pressure on our own governments to also stop cooperating with Israel and stop this genocide.

"Ultimately, we want this genocide to stop," added the 35-year-old sailor.

The two ships will join the rest of the fleet, which hopes to help alleviate the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza as Israel's war against the Palestinian extremist group Hamas continues.

In August, as a result of the conflict, the United Nations officially declared a famine in and around the city of Gaza, home to about a million people.

Israel denies the existence of famine in the coastal territory.

Supported by prominent figures, including environmental activist Greta Thunberg, the pro-Palestinian flotilla Global Sumud presents itself as an independent group not affiliated with any government or political party.

Sumud is an Arabic word meaning "resilience."

Its journey to the Gaza Strip has been plagued by at least two alleged drone attacks while it was docked off the coast of Tunisia, raising concerns about the safety of the Greek ships.

Crew member Savantoglu downplayed such concerns. "I think we are all worried, but we are also very prepared for everything we can be prepared for," she told AFP.

"What we are facing these days with bureaucracy or even drone attacks in Tunisia is nothing compared to just one minute of life in Gaza."

Along with Rhodes and Crete, Syros witnessed demonstrations that brought together hundreds of people in July to prevent the Israeli cruise ship Crown Iris from docking, in response to Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

The war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, triggered by a Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to AFP data based on Israeli figures.

As a result of Israel's retaliatory offensive, at least 64,871 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed, according to data from the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza. The UN considers this data to be reliable. I BGNES