Large Gaza Flotilla Sets Sail From Barcelona, Aims To Breach Israeli Blockade

On Sunday, a fleet of vessels carrying activists and supplies left Barcelona, in what organizers describe as the largest organized attempt by sea to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

The effort, called the Global Sumud Flotilla, features about 20 ships with representatives from 44 nations. Organizers claim the cargo includes food, medical items, and water, and they are insisting on unhindered passage and the creation of a dedicated humanitarian maritime route to the coastal enclave.

According to the Associated Press, thousands of demonstrators assembled at the Barcelona harbor to cheer on the departing ships, shouting anti-Israel chants and waving PLO flags. The flotilla is made up of various vessels, from older yachts to modest sailboats, including the Sirus, which is more than a hundred years old.

Spokesperson Saif Abukeshek told Spanish media that more boats are expected to link up with the group, including some from Tunisia and Italy. Roughly 70 vessels are anticipated to converge for the last stage toward Gaza, with the convoy hoping to arrive around September 14 or 15.

Among those on board is Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who remarked, “The story here is about Palestine. The story here is how people are being deliberately deprived of the very basic means to survive.”

Also sailing with the flotilla are former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau—who during her tenure cut the city’s formal connections with Israel—and actor Liam Cunningham.

Thunberg has already had a confrontation with Israel this year. In June, she was expelled after the IDF intercepted another ship, the Madleen, on which she was a passenger.

When that vessel was seized, the passengers were supplied with food and water, although many of them had already recorded videos alleging they had been “kidnapped” by Israeli forces.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded at the time by saying the aid aboard the Madleen amounted to less than a single truckload, and that it would nonetheless be transferred into Gaza through established humanitarian delivery systems.

{Matzav.com Israel}