TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Global Sumud Flotilla, the most ambitious and largest maritime mission to try to reach Gaza to date, set sail from various ports at the end of August.
It comprises nearly 1,000 participants, including the Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg, former Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, and the Irish actor Liam Cunningham. The flotilla, which is defined as a fleet of ships under one command, was warmly received during a stopover in Tunisia on Sunday.
The fleet of 50 boats, which is carrying humanitarian supplies, is slated to reach the Gaza Strip within the next few days.
But it is unlikely that they will actually be allowed to reach Gaza's shore and dock.
All previous attempts to do so since 2010 have been thwarted by Israeli forces. Israel argues that the naval blockade it set up in 2007, after Hamas took over as Gaza's ruling entity, is necessary to prevent the Islamist militant group, which is categorized as a terror organization by the US, EU and many others, from importing arms.
In the view of many human rights organizations and NGOs, however, the blockade constitutes collective punishment, which is illegal under international law.
Gaza's already dire humanitarian situation has further deteriorated in the almost two years of war, which was triggered by the Hamas-led terror attacks of October 7, 2023 against Israel. UN officials and others have said that as part of its ongoing military campaign, Israel is committing war crimes, including ethnic cleansing and deliberate starvation. Some have warned of genocide and famine. More than 63,000 Palestinians, including at least 20,000 children, are reported to have been killed.
"The activists are trying to send the important message that there is an urgent humanitarian emergency and that the situation requires opposition to Israel's political decision to allow this siege and this famine to happen," Amjad Iraqi, Israeli-Palestinian relations observer at the global non-profit International Crisis Group, told DW.
"This is independent of whether or not this flotilla succeeds to reach Gaza," he adds.
What Are the Flotillas for?
The Global Sumud Flotilla is estimated to be transporting around 300 tons of essential supplies, such as food, drinking water, and medicine.
"The goods on these flotillas do not meet the needs of the Palestinians in Gaza, but they draw international attention to what is happening in Gaza," Nathan Brown, professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, told DW.
"Another effect, although maybe a little bit less significant, is that it communicates to the Palestinian population that they're not being ignored," he said.
Brown added that there was an enormous amount of frustration among Palestinians who feared that the post-World War II international rules-based order was for others but not for them.
Meanwhile, European criticism of Israel's ongoing war on Gaza is growing. Officials in Spain, France, Slovenia and other countries have called Israel’s humanitarian blockade "unbearable."
"What Israel is viewed as doing is not simply making war in Gaza, but actually deliberately inducing famine which would be a clear war crime," Brown told DW. "The widening gap between supporters and critics is something this current flotilla looks to bring greater attention to," he concluded.
Israel rejects the criticism. "The Israeli government argues that they are letting enough food in, that what is getting through is being stolen by Hamas, that flotillas are just a publicity stunt by people who hate Israel and that this is the only current conflict in which one party is expected to feed the other," Brown said.
He added that this viewpoint had been repeated by US diplomats. US President Donald Trump continues to be a firm supporter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policy on Gaza.
What Happened to the Other Flotillas?
In 2008, a year after Hamas started ruling the Gaza Strip, several flotillas made it to Gaza as Israel had not yet fully enforced its naval blockade. However, by mid-2009, Israel began intercepting all boats, and denied further access by sea to Gaza. Since 2010, no flotilla has reached Gaza.
On May 31, 2010, Israeli forces stopped six civilian boats of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in what became known as the Mavi Marmara raid. Israeli forces opened fire on the Turkish-owned passenger ship, killing 10 Turkish pro-Palestine activists. The Israeli navy later claimed that it acted in self-defence, but its action came under widespread international criticism. Diplomatic relations between Israel and Turkey deteriorated until Israel issued a formal apology in 2013 and agreed to pay $20 million (€17.4m) in compensation to the victims’ families in 2016.
A 2011 initiative called Freedom Flotilla II never set sail from Greece due to a combination of political pressure, technical sabotage, and legal obstacles. As a consequence of Israeli pressure, Greece banned flotilla vessels from departing to Gaza, citing security and diplomatic concerns.
On June 29, 2015, the Swedish-flagged Freedom Flotilla III carrying activists, parliamentarians, journalists and public figures from over 20 countries was intercepted around 100 miles off Gaza. Israeli forces boarded some of the ships, while other ships turned around. Reportedly, the Israeli navy used tasers during the operation.
In October 2016, the Women's Boat to Gaza, a flotilla carrying women activists, was also intercepted before it reached Gaza.
In 2018, Israeli naval forces intercepted and seized two ships belonging to the Just Future for Palestine Flotilla, first the Al Awda on July 29 and then the Freedom on August 3. According to some on board, Israeli forces assaulted some of the activists, who were later deported from Israel.
Two flotillas that left earlier this year and the current Global Sumud are described as Freedom Flotilla missions.
Greta Thunberg was already among the participants in the Madleen Mission, which set sail in June. She was detained after Israeli forces intercepted the boat and later deported with others.
In July, activists on the Handala mission were arrested after their ship was intercepted and seized in international waters off Gaza.
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