A flotilla carrying humanitarian aid and activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, is due to leave from Barcelona on Sunday to try to “break the illegal siege of Gaza”, organisers said.

The vessels will set off from the Spanish port city to “open a humanitarian corridor and end the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people”, said the Global Sumud Flotilla.

They did not say how many ships would set sail or the exact time of departure.

The flotilla is expected to arrive at the war-ravaged coastal enclave in mid-September.

“This will be the largest solidarity mission in history, with more people and more boats than all previous attempts combined,” Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila told journalists in Barcelona last week.

Organisers say that dozens of other vessels are expected to leave Tunisian and other Mediterranean ports on 4 September.

Activists will also stage simultaneous demonstrations and other protests in 44 countries “in solidarity with the Palestinian people”, Thunberg, who is part of the flotilla’s steering committee, wrote on Instagram.

As well as Thunberg, the flotilla will include activists from several countries, European lawmakers and public figures such as former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau.

“We understand that this is a legal mission under international law,” leftwing Portuguese lawmaker Mariana Mortágua, who will join the mission, told journalists in Lisbon last week.

Israel has already blocked two attempts by activists to deliver aid by ship to Gaza, in June and July.

In June, 12 activists on board the sailboat Madleen were intercepted by Israeli forces 185km west of Gaza. Its passengers, who included Thunberg, were detained and eventually expelled.

In July, 21 activists from 10 countries were intercepted as they tried to approach Gaza in another vessel, the Handala.

No. 9 LSU went on the road and shocked No. 4 Clemson 17-10 to pick up a crucial road victory and firmly cement its place in the national championship picture. The battle went down to the final minutes, but LSU coach Brian Kelly finally picked up his first season-opening victory as Tigers coach. 

Tied 10-10 at the start of the fourth quarter, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier put together a legacy drive. After he was roughed on a completion to Aaron Anderson, Nussmeier ran for a third-down conversion and then found tight end Trey’Dez Green for an 8-yard touchdown to give LSU a lead it would never surrender. 

Clemson had three more chances to get back into the end zone, turning it over on downs once and going three-and-out to set up a pivotal final drive. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik completed a big-time pass to T.J. Moore while taking a shot to lead a drive into the red zone. Facing fourth-and-4, LSU defender Harold Perkins brought pressure and forced an incompletion to end the game. 

Playing against a phenomenal Clemson defense, Nussmeier stepped up big, completing 28 of 38 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown in the win. Anderson was his top target, catching six passes for 99 yards, including a 39-yarder. Running back Caden Durham went for 74 yards and a touchdown. Klubnik was strong, throwing for 230 yards, with four receivers hitting four catches. However, the lack of running game (20 carries for 31 yards) stood tall in the biggest moments. 

Read on below for takeaways from LSU’s season-opening win over Clemson on Saturday.