Aid flotilla aiming to break Gaza blockade returns due to stormy weather

An aid flotilla of dozens of boats that had set sail for Gaza on Sunday has returned to port in Barcelona due to stormy weather, organisers said on Monday.

The flotilla was carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists, including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, news agency Reuters has reported.

"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 35 mph (56 kph).

The flotilla of several dozen boats aims to deliver food and humanitarian supplies to the enclave.

Israeli-imposed blockade on Gaza has caused at least 339 deaths due to starvation. This includes 124 children. Famine has been officially declared in Gaza by the Integrated Food Phase Classification (IPC), the UN-backed global hunger monitor.

Activists, including Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham, are on the flotilla.