A flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists who attempted to reach Gaza last year will set sail for the besieged territory again next month, one member said yesterday.
The Global Sumud Flotilla said the new mission set for March 29 would be “the largest co-ordinated humanitarian intervention for Palestine in history” and will mobilise “thousands from over 100 countries”. “We will be sailing from Barcelona, Tunis, Italy and many other ports not yet made public,” Brazilian activist Thiago Avila said. The group said an overland convoy would also leave for Gaza on the same day, without specifying from where.
The campaigners sought to break an Israeli blockade by delivering aid to Gaza by sea last October, before they were intercepted by Israel, detained and deported.
Israel controls Gaza’s borders and scrutinises all aid coming into the territory. The activists describe their actions as a “non-violent response to genocide, siege, mass starvation, and the destruction of civilian life in Gaza”.