An aid convoy of up to 100 vehicles will head through Ramsgate this weekend on the start of a 4,700 mile “lifeline” mission to troubled Gaza.

Drivers will take more than three weeks to reach the Palestinian territory, which faces a humanitarian crisis following Israel’s recent offensive.

More than 1,000 people are said to have been killed in the violence, which has left many thousands more homeless.

The fire engines, ambulances, lorries and other vehicles joining the 'Viva Palestina’ convoy will be piled high with clothes, medicines, toys and food.

George Galloway, the Respect MP who is leading the relief effort, said: “Thousands of people have contacted me to say that they have marched in protest, cried at the television pictures and feel helpless in the face of the suffering.

“This lifeline from Britain to Gaza has been quite an undertaking and fundraising has been taking place right across the country.”

The huge convoy is set to depart central London on Valentine’s Day (Saturday, February 14) and arrive in Ramsgate for an evening ferry crossing to Ostend.

From there, it will trek through France, Spain and across the Straits of Gibraltar to Morocco. The vehicles will then head east along the Mediterranean coast through Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt before crossing the border into Gaza.