Irish Artists including Stephen Rea, Robert Ballagh, Felim Egan, Guggi and Pat Harris have put their support behind a campaign to send an Irish aid ship to Gaza as part of an international flotilla in late May.

The mission will take place exactly one year after the tragically failed “Freedom Flotilla” mission last year in which aid workers clashed with Israeli blockade enforcement officers.

A fundraiser entitled “Irish Art For Gaza” took place in Dublin, yesterday.

Guggi told Irish Independent reporters: “My heart is with the children of Gaza who are suffering at this time. I want to take part purely for humanitarian reasons. This is not about making a political statement of any kind.”