An Israeli gunboat intercepted the ship carrying aid from Libya for the Gaza Strip, the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation said on Tuesday, DPA reported.
The ship, which left Greece on Saturday afternoon, was commissioned by the foundation, which is headed by Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, the second-born son of the Libyan leader.
"The Ship's Captain was asked by the gunboat crew to go to El-Arish port instead, stressing that the vessel will not be allowed to go into Gaza at all," the foundation said in a statement on its website.
The ship's captain and the head of the foundation's team on board of the ship affirmed that the Ship's sole destination is Gaza, asserting that it is carrying humanitarian aid and has no other purpose whatsoever, while the gunboat is still present near the Ship, it added.
The Moldovan-flagged Amalthia, with some 15 pro-Palestinian activists and 12 crew members and 2,000 tons of food and medicine is expected to arrive off the coast of Gaza by Wednesday morning.
Also on board the 92-metre vessel are a crew of 12 from Haiti, India and Syria, under the command of a Cuban-born captain. Most of the activists on board are from Libya, except for one Nigerian, one Algerian and one Moroccan.