TRIPOLI, Lebanon, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- A ship carrying supplies to Gaza crewed only by female volunteers will leave Tripoli this weekend, and organizers say hundreds volunteered for the trip.
The crew consists of nuns from the United States, a musician, doctors, attorneys and journalists, London's Guardian reported Saturday.
Israeli officials told the paper they are concerned a fleet from Lebanon, a country it has ongoing hostilities with, will smuggle weapons to Gaza.
Gabriela Shalev, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, said Israel reserves the right to use "necessary measures" to stop the ship.
But one of the organizers of the voyage told the Guardian it has no intention of smuggling arms into Israel.
The coordinator of the voyage, Samar al-Haj, told the Guardian this week the Lebanese government had given permission for the boats to leave for Cyprus, the first leg of the journey, this weekend.
"Our goal is to arrive in Gaza," said al-Haj. "It is the responsibility of the government to deal with the politics. We are not political."
Americans will comprise 10 members of the crew, and the boat is loaded with medical instruments and medicines bound for Palestine, the paper reported.
