Global Sumud Flotilla Sails Near Gaza To Break Israel's Blockade
JAKARTA - Global Sumud Flotilla's international aid fleet is approaching the Gaza Strip in an effort to break through Israel's blockade of the Palestinian enclave, organizers said Monday.
"We are only 570 kilometers from Gaza," the International Committee for Gaza's Extinction on social media X was reported by ANTARA, Monday, September 29.
One of the Italian activists who took part in the Global Sumud Flotilla, Tony La Piccirella, said via video they would arrive on Tuesday at the point where the Madleen and Handala ships were intercepted by the Israeli navy, in a previous effort to penetrate Gaza and provide assistance.
A group of activists joining Global Sumud Flotilla, departed from the Mediterranean on Monday, and two more ships joined from the Greek and Turkish Cypriot Government regions. The fleet's largest ship will sail on Tuesday with 100 people on board, the activist said.
La Piccirella said apart from Italian and Spanish naval vessels providing protection for the fleet, three other countries were considering shipping more military ships, without revealing the names of the country.
"So, it's getting bigger. And it's not about us, it's about Global Sumud Flotilla. It's like a movement involving hundreds of people at sea and millions of people on land, and it's unstoppable until the siege is broken," he said.
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Global Sumud Flotilla, which consists of about 50 ships, sailed earlier this month to penetrate Israel's blockade in Gaza and delivered humanitarian aid, particularly medical supplies, to the war-torn enclave.
On July 26, Israeli naval forces intercepted a Handala aid ship as it approached Gaza's coast and escorted it to Ashdod Harbor. The ship has reached about 70 nautical miles from Gaza, exceeding the distance traveled by Madleen, which reached 110 miles from Gaza before it was stopped.
Since March 2, Israel has completely closed Gaza's crossings, blocked convoys of food and aid, and exacerbated hunger conditions in the Palestinian enclave.
Israeli soldiers have killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombing has left the enclave uninhabitable and has led to hunger and disease spread.
Source: Anadolu