The pro-Palestinian Global Sumud [“Steadfastness”] Flotilla left Barcelona on Wednesday, sailing toward Italy ahead of its attempt to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, organizers said.
The flotilla left Spain later than planned due to a “temporary weather-related delay,” the Global Sumud Flotilla organization said in a press release as it celebrated “the first maritime movement of the mission’s next phase.”
The flotilla, which includes more than 70 vessels and is joined by Greenpeace’s “Arctic Sunrise,” is coordinated with land-based “We Rise” solidarity actions worldwide.
“As the first vessels advance eastward, the flotilla enters a coordinated multi-port mobilization phase across Italy and beyond,” including in Brussels, Belgium, according to the press release. “Additional boats and international participants are expected to join ahead of the official expanded departure from Siracusa” on April 24, it added.
The aim of the self-titled “Global Sumud Flotilla”—sumud meaning “steadfastness” in Arabic—is to “to break the illegal siege on Gaza by sea, open a humanitarian corridor, and end the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people,” according to the organization.
Several missions led by the group were intercepted by the Israeli Navy last year, with participants detained and deported, including Swedish far-left activist Greta Thunberg.
Thunberg, who participated in two attempts to sail to Gaza, has been banned from entering the Jewish state, along with other activists, for 100 years.
Jerusalem maintains that its naval blockade on Gaza, imposed on Jan. 3, 2009, is compatible with international law. It aims to prevent weapons, terrorists and money from entering or exiting the Gaza Strip by sea. The enclave has been ruled by Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists since 2007.
