Peace activists on board an aid ship heading for Gaza are being shadowed byIsraeli forces, according to reports.
The Rachel Corrie set out with its crew determined to break Israel’s naval blockade.
The Israeli Defence Force has said it has ignored calls to dock at Ashdod Port and is shadowing the aid ship.
“We can see some Israeli ships a little away from us. They are following us, there has been no contact,” said a journalist on board.
The Rachel Corrie was meant to have travelled with the original six-ship convoy that Israeli commandoes intercepted this week in a botched operation that killed nine people.
The Irish-registered vessel was delayed by mechanical trouble which activists say they suspect was sabotage by Israel.
Israel says it has offered the Rachel Corrie free passage to Ashdod where the aid could be offloaded and transferred to Gaza.
Nobel peace prize winner Mairead Corrigan, who is on board, said earlier Israel had not yet contacted the ship and it would not accept its offer anyway.
The ship is named after US peace activist Rachel Corrie who was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer, accidentally says Israel, in Gaza in 2003.
It may not be the last aid boat to try and break the blockade which Israel says is justified because it is in a state of armed conflict with Hamas who control Gaza.
Groups in Turkey are said to be planning a new aid flotilla in the autumn.
