Two of the seven boats involved were "tampered with," forcing one to drop out and the other to pull into port in Turkish-held north Cyprus for repairs, said Elize Ernshire of the Free Gaza Movement which organised the flotilla.

"We are more determined than ever. These actions can be frustrating but in the end they are not going to stop us," she told AFP.

"These boats had no previous mechanical problems and had undergone full (mechanical) surveys," Ernshire said, declining to elaborate on the damage. A statement would be issued at a later date.

One of the damaged boats transferred its passengers at sea. The other ship pulled into Famagusta in the Turkish-held sector of the island and headed back out late Saturday to rejoin the flotilla.

Ernshire said the flotilla of cargo and passenger ships was located 120 nautical miles from the Gaza coast.

The sixth boat was expected to rendezvous with the flotilla at around midnight (2100 GMT), when the ships would set off toward Gaza, aiming to arrive on Sunday afternoon, said Audrey Bomse, another Free Gaza member.

With its naval forces at the ready, the Jewish state plans to intercept the vessels and detain the hundreds of people aboard in the Israeli port of Ashdod before deporting them.

Five European MPs are among the activists, said Ernshire. However, another five would not be on the boats that had originally been due to leave on Friday but were delayed due to a lack of cooperation by Greek Cypriot authorities.

Organisers had been kept "under close scrutiny" while on land in Cyprus by helicopter and intelligence agents, she added. "For a humanitarian operation, this was a real eye opener."

The flotilla waited in international waters for the green light with its load of thousands of tonnes of supplies. The Cyprus government did not allow the use of its ports for the operation.

"I can only assume pressure was put on them," said Bomse.

A Cypriot government official said Nicosia had not received any formal request from the Palestinian Authority for humanitarian aid and that it was not in the divided island's "national interest" to assist the operation.

Bomse said the involvement of Famagusta had led to the withdrawal of Greek and Greek Cypriot politicians from the operation, but MPs from Bulgaria, Ireland, Italy, Norway and Sweden were still on board the boats.

Greece and Cyprus regard the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, where Famagusta is the main port, as an illegal entity.

Earlier this week, Israel told the ambassadors of Cyprus, Turkey, Greece and Ireland -- the countries involved in the maritime operation -- that the flotilla would be breaking international law.

But organisers dismissed the Israeli charge that their blockade-busting bid is illegal.

"Most despicably of all, Israel claims that we are violating international law by sailing unarmed ships carrying humanitarian aid to a people desperately in need," the Free Gaza Movement said.

Israel imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza in 2007 after Hamas -- an Islamist movement committed to the destruction of Israel -- seized power in the impoverished, overcrowded Palestinian territory.

Because of the blockade, only limited reconstruction has been possible in the wake of a devastating 22-day offensive which Israel launched against Hamas in late December 2008.

Pro-Palestinian activists have landed in Gaza five times, with another three attempts unsuccessful since their first such sea voyage in August 2008. The latest is their biggest operation.

To date, the aid has been largely symbolic but organisers say the flotilla now under way is laden with 10,000 tonnes of aid, ranging from pre-fabricated homes to pencils.

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