The Free Gaza Movement issued a press release on Thursday announcing that peace activists will be heading to Gaza via an emergency ship in an attempt to deliver humanitarian supplies to the residents of the Gaza Strip.

The movement added that the time and date of the trip will be announced soon, and that the boat will sail from Cyprus to the regional waters in Gaza without approaching Israeli controlled regional waters (although this will not stop the Israeli Navy from potentially attacking and intercepting them).

The movement said that the ongoing Israeli offensive and the killing of hundreds of civilians, including women and children, and the thousands of wounded residents, prove that Israel is ongoing with targeting civilians, while the international community remains unable to oblige Israel to respect the international human rights treaties and the Fourth Geneva Conventions.

The movement added in its release that while Israel continue to commit war crimes in Gaza "we, citizens of Belgium, Colombia, France, Britain, Greece, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, USA, Kuwait and Jordan, believe that it's our moral duty to do whatever we can to protect the civilians in the Gaza Strip".

On Tuesday, December 30, the Israeli Navy attacked the Al Karama (Dignity) ship while it was attempting to reach the Gaza shore to deliver medical supplies.

Physicians were also onboard the ship, along with several peace activists, including Cynthia McKinney, former Congresswoman and US Green Party US presidential candidate.

"We will not surrender to the violence of the Israeli army, therefore, we will sail to Gaza, we are physicians, parliamentarians and peace activists, we are trying to reach Gaza to provide aid to the residents and to be witnesses to the Israeli crimes against the civilians", the movement reported, "in spite of the threats against us, in spite of the attempts to stop us, we will go to Gaza and expose the Israeli massacres against 1.5 million Palestinians".