As their suffering grows, Gazans increasingly feel they have been abandoned by the international community. Western aid might alleviate their plight, but it is only foreign pro-Palestinian activists like those who sailed on last week's flotilla that draw attention to their misery, they believe. Attempts to break the naval blockade such as the one led by the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish vessel, are therefore seen as more important for the publicity they bring than for the relatively insignificant amount of aid they carry.