Huge crowds gathered at Tunisia's port on Sunday to welcome Greta Thunberg as her aid flotilla, bound for Gaza, docked at the port.
The Swedish climate activist is travelling with 350 pro-Palestinian activists on boats stocked with aid that they are hoping to deliver to Palestinians in Gaza.
Pictures from the Sidi Bou Said port show hordes of people surrounding the 22-year-old as she addressed the crowd. 'We all know why we are here,' she said. 'Just across the water there's a genocide going on, a mass starvation by Israel's murder machine.'
Israel has repeatedly denied that there is starvation in Gaza and has blamed any hunger on Hamas and aid agency failures.
Last month a UN-backed body confirmed that there was famine in the territory, and the UN's humanitarian chief said it was the direct result of Israel's 'systematic obstruction' of aid entering Gaza.
French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan was at the port, stating, 'The Palestinian cause is not in the hands of governments today. It is in the hearts of peoples everywhere,' praising those who stand in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Flotilla organizers have said that the aim of their mission is to 'break Israel's illegal siege on Gaza', but this trip has not always been smooth sailing, with a previous attempt in June being intercepted by Israeli forces.
This latest attempt started on Monday when the flotilla of about 20 vessels set sail from Barcelona.
The group will now stay in Tunisia for a few days, expanding and loading additional aid before resuming the journey to Gaza, according to the Global Sumud Flotilla.
Israeli authorities have characterized Thunberg's previous attempt as a publicity stunt offering no real humanitarian assistance, and in March, a near-total blockade on supplies was reintroduced, claiming the aid was being taken by Hamas.
