Middle East envoy Tony Blair's sister-in-law and more than 40 other activists sailed from Cyprus yesterday in a bid to challenge an Israeli sea blockade of 1.4 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Setting out in two wooden boats, the Free Gaza activists expect to arrive off Gaza, whose shores are patrolled by the Israeli navy, today after a 240 nautical mile journey.

Among the 44 activists highlighting poor living conditions of Palestinians in Gaza is Lauren Booth, whose brother-in-law Mr Blair is the former British Prime Minister and now the international community's Middle East peace envoy.

"I would tell him to come on board and visit the people of Gaza as he should have done many many times by now and see the situation himself, then act on what he sees," Ms Booth told Reuters, referring to Mr Blair.

A previous attempt by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation to sail to Haifa from Cyprus with Palestinian deportees failed in 1988, when a limpet bomb blew a hole in the hull of a ferryboat they had chartered. An Israeli army spokesman declined to say whether the navy had plans to intercept the boats before they reached Gaza.

The activists say they plan to deliver aid to Gaza, but their main aim is to highlight the conditions of Palestinians suffering shortages of everything from food to fuel since an Israeli crackdown.

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