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Dozens, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, gathered at the port of Barcelona on Saturday ahead of the planned departure of a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid bound for Gaza. Speaking from the port, Thunberg said, “This is the 38th attempt by the people to break the illegal siege of Gaza.”
“The difference between this and previous missions is that now we are dozens of boats, sailing from several ports around the Mediterranean Sea,” she added. According to Thunberg, 26,000 people have signed up in support of the mission. “Israel has been continuously violating international law, blocking humanitarian aid, and escalating violence and mass starvation,” she said.
The mission, scheduled to leave on Sunday, aims to challenge Israel’s naval blockade of the enclave, in place since Hamas seized control in 2007.
Alongside Thunberg, the flotilla will include lawmakers, public figures, and activists from several countries. Former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau and Portuguese lawmaker Mariana Mortágua are among those joining. “We understand that this is a legal mission under international law,” Mortágua said in Lisbon.
Organisers, part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, have said the goal is to open a “humanitarian corridor” in Gaza, reported AFP. They did not specify the number of vessels setting sail from Spain but confirmed more boats will depart from other Mediterranean ports on September 4.
Organisers described the initiative as the largest of its kind. “This will be the largest solidarity mission in history, with more people and more boats than all previous attempts combined,” Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila said in Barcelona last week, according to AFP.
Israel has intercepted previous efforts to reach Gaza by sea. In June, a boat carrying 12 activists, including Thunberg, was stopped 185 kilometres from Gaza. Its passengers were detained and later expelled. Another group of 21 activists from 10 countries was blocked in July as they attempted to approach the enclave on a vessel named Handala.
The current flotilla is expected to reach Gaza in mid-September, while parallel demonstrations are planned in 44 countries.
(With reporting from AP video, AFP)
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