A new flotilla is heading to Gaza, amid fears of Israeli interceptions

Published connected 22/04/2026 - 19:06 GMT+2•Updated 19:08

The “Global Sumud Flotilla” is acceptable to sail to Gaza again, aft its erstwhile ngo was intercepted past October by Israeli authorities and failed to scope the Strip.

Almost a 100 boats with astir 1,000 radical connected committee volition beryllium progressive successful the caller mission, meant to present humanitarian assistance successful Gaza, bypassing Israeli controls. The caller inaugural is considered adjacent much unsafe than the past one, fixed the ongoing conflicts successful the Middle East.

The past boats are expected to depart connected Saturday from Augusta, Sicily, and articulation up with different vessels departing from Barcelona and Marseille. In the past fewer days, the flotilla tried to halt a cargo vessel carrying earthy materials en way to proviso the Israeli subject industry. Other boats are expected to articulation on the mode to Gaza, departing from Greece and Türkiye.

The Gaza-bound inaugural volition beryllium the largest civilian maritime ngo for Palestine successful history, astir treble the size of the erstwhile one, according to its promoters, a web of students, national workers, humanitarians and pro-Palestinian associations. Their eventual extremity is to interruption what they specify arsenic “the amerciable siege imposed by Israel connected Gaza."

The past flotilla, made up of astir 50 vessels, was stopped successful planetary waters northbound of Egypt successful October 2025, portion attempting to participate an country that Israeli authorities warned them not to cross, a fewer days earlier the ceasefire successful Gaza was reached.

The Israeli navy approached the flotilla and boarded the vessels, seizing the boats and detaining activists, journalists and politicians who were connected board, including clime activistic Greta Thunberg. The interception sparked protests successful galore cities crossed Europe, nevertheless each of the radical taken from the boats were released aft 1 oregon 2 days successful situation successful Israel and subsequently returned to their location countries.

The Israeli authorities said it had the close to enforce a naval blockade connected Gaza during the warfare against the violent radical Hamas, considering the flotilla enactment "not a humanitarian ngo but a governmental provocation" and claiming it had been financed by Hamas. The Global Sumud Flotilla organisation rejected this accusation.

This caller inaugural risks ending up the aforesaid way, arsenic it is precise improbable that Israel would let the vessels to scope the Gaza Strip. “It is simply a fearfulness that we have. We cognize what we are going against,” Navid Lari, a Belgian activistic who is sailing successful the mission, told Euronews.

However, helium and his chap activists see Israel’s interception strategy not unbreakable. “Last clip they had a hard clip intercepting forty-five ships, we saw the limits of their system,” helium said, claiming that the beardown civilian nine mobilisation that followed the flotilla's interception had influenced immoderate EU governments’ stance connected the issue.

Ahead of the launch, the Global Sumud Flotilla convened a Congress successful Brussels connected Wednesday, including members of the European Parliament, politicians from respective EU and non-EU countries and UN officials specified arsenic Francesca Albanese, UN peculiar rapporteur connected quality rights successful the occupied Palestinian territories.

The “Brussels Declaration”, signed by the participants, calls for the constitution of a humanitarian maritime corridor to Gaza, grounded successful planetary instrumentality and verified by the United Nations.