Organizers of the Tunisian contingent of an anti-Israel protest flotilla set to sail toward Gaza announced on Sunday a three-day delay in the launch of their journey for “technical and logistical reasons.”
The boats participating in the protest had planned to leave on Sunday from Tunisia to join other vessels from the Sumud anti-Israel flotilla already in the Mediterranean, but would leave on Wednesday instead due to the issues, which were “beyond management’s control,” the AFP news agency quoted organizers as saying.
The Tunisian vessels of the Sumud Flotilla had already been delayed by bad weather. Other parts of the flotilla have also faced delays due to weather and other malfunctions.
Last week, the flotilla’s main contingent set sail from Barcelona, carrying aboard anti-Israel activists Greta Thunberg of Sweden and the Irish actor Liam Cunningham of “Game of Thrones” fame, among others. It was forced to turn back on Sept. 1 due to stormy weather, organizers said, but set out some hours later.
The Global Sumud (“steadfastness” in Arabic) Flotilla aims to “break the siege” on the Gaza Strip and deliver some aid supplies, though it is largely understood to be a PR action.
Thunberg and hundreds of other anti-Israel activists departed from Spain and other countries on Sunday, in what Reuters described as the largest Gaza flotilla to date.
It is the second protest flotilla for the climate activist, who has pivoted to anti-Israel extremism since the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. She is joined by far-left Portuguese parliamentarian Mariana Mortágua and activists from 44 countries, who departed from Barcelona, Sicily and Greece.
In June, Thunberg was detained by the Israeli Navy during an attempt to reach Gaza aboard the Madleen, and subsequently deported.
Of the 12 people aboard the Madleen, four, including Thunberg, agreed to be deported from Israel voluntarily, while all were banned from the Jewish state.
Israel sent the aid supplies on board the Madleen, less than a single truckload, to Gaza by land.
Israel intend to take control of the ships and redirect them to prevent them from reaching Gaza, National Security Minister Itamar Ban-Gvir has said.
