Land convoy sets off for Gaza from Tunisia to protest against Israeli blockade of Strip

A convoy of buses and private cars departed from Tunisia's capital on Monday headed to Gaza.

The initiative aims to shed light on Israel's blockade on humanitarian aid to the enclave, as Israeli authorities stopped a high-profile flotilla carrying aid from landing there.

The overland effort, organized independently but moved up to coincide with the flotilla, is made up of activists, lawyers and medical professionals from North Africa.

The convoy is set to traverse Tunisia, Libya and Egypt before reaching Gaza through the border crossing in Rafah.

The Rafah border crossing has remained largely closed since the Israeli military took control of the Gaza side in May of last year.

Civil society groups behind the initiative say their aim is to demand the immediate lifting of the unjust siege on the territory.

They stress that Arab governments aren't doing enough to end the 20-month-long war between Israel and Hamas.

After an almost three-month blockade of Gaza aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing in some basic and limited amounts of aid last month.