New freedom flotilla sets sail to break Gaza blockade
File photo: REUTERS
Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) has launched a fresh international sea campaign to break the blockade on Gaza. The vessels are making port calls across Europe as they prepare to head toward the shores of Gaza on October.
Coalition organizers declared that they will press forward to “challenge Israel’s illegal and deadly blockade of Gaza,” refusing to back down despite the history of severe physical violence, electric shocks, and sexual abuse that Israeli forces have inflicted on past volunteers.
Vessels mobilize across Europe
Activists said the world has largely turned its back on Gaza since negotiators brokered a ceasefire in October 2025, making immediate intervention vital. Two ships have already begun their journeys.
The Handala II journeyed through Scandinavia during June and July, making stops in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Meanwhile, the vessel Kate departed Bristol, United Kingdom, earlier this month, anchoring in ports across Ireland, Germany, and France.
The coalition plans additional stops in Spain, Portugal, and Italy before directing the fleet toward Gaza.
FFC Steering Committee Member Zohar Chamberlain Regev added, “The Freedom Flotilla sails again because our governments continue to fail to uphold their obligations. At every port, we will carry the demand that Palestinians be free to live with dignity.”
A diverse coalition of human rights defenders, peace activists, politicians, journalists, healthcare workers, and Palestinian rights supporters has joined the initiative.
The alliance urges global governments to secure safe passage for the vessels, pressure Israel to stop blocking food, medicine, and water, vow diplomatic retaliation if Israel attacks or impounds the ships, and employ diplomatic and economic leverage to dismantle the blockade.
Facing a history of Israeli violence
Maryland engineer Edward Digilio, who is participating in the voyage, acknowledged the danger. “We know that sailing toward Gaza carries serious risks,” Digilio said. “But silence and inaction carry a much greater cost for Palestinians and the world.”
The coalition’s resistance began in 2010 when Israeli commandos killed 10 activists aboard the Mavi Marmara, following earlier efforts by the Free Gaza Movement in 2008. Within the last year, Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla on two occasions.
They arrested over 450 participants in October 2025 - including the prominent South African novelist Zukiswa Wanner and Mandla Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela - and swept up another 175 activists in April 2026.
Amnesty International then compiled evidence showing that Israeli authorities subjected these detainees to sleep deprivation, withheld water and medical treatment, and committed other abuses.
In April 2026, authorities held two activists, Thiago Avila and Saif Abukeshek, incommunicado for several days. They extended their detention based on classified evidence before finally deporting them.
Unrelenting humanitarian disaster
The flotilla’s departure coincides with warnings from international relief organizations that humanitarian conditions in Gaza have deteriorated to catastrophic levels, notwithstanding the nominal ceasefire.
According to UNICEF, over 82 percent of families lack secure access to water, while nearly 90 percent of the strip’s water and sanitation network lies in ruins. Israeli forces have regularly targeted hospitals, humanitarian warehouses, and pharmaceutical storage depots in recent weeks.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that Israeli military strikes have killed more than 1,300 people since the October truce went into effect, while thousands of others remain missing under the collapsed buildings.
Source: Al Jazeera (adapted)
