A massive flotilla of ships carrying aid and activists, including Greta Thunberg, has departed Barcelona in a high-profile attempt to breach Israel’s Gaza blockade.
In what organizers call the largest maritime challenge yet to Israel’s blockade of Gaza, a 20-ship flotilla carrying activists and humanitarian supplies set sail from Barcelona on Sunday, cheered on by thousands of supporters waving PLO flags and chanting anti-Israel slogans, the Associated Press reported.
The convoy, branded the Global Sumud Flotilla, carries delegations from 44 countries and claims to be delivering food, water, and medicine. Organizers demand safe passage and the opening of a humanitarian sea corridor to Gaza. Additional vessels from Italy and Tunisia are expected to join, with flotilla spokesman Saif Abukeshek projecting as many as 70 boats converging for the final leg toward Gaza around September 14–15.
Among the high-profile passengers are climate activist Greta Thunberg, who declared: “The story here is about Palestine… about people being deliberately deprived of the very basic means to survive.” Also aboard are former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, known for severing her city’s ties with Israel, and actor Liam Cunningham.
The fleet itself is a mix of old yachts, small sailboats, and even the century-old Sirus. Their journey comes after Thunberg was deported by Israel in June, when the vessel Madleen was intercepted by the IDF. At that time, activists released prerecorded videos accusing Israel of “kidnapping” them—despite having been given food and water before being sent home.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the Madleen’s cargo as symbolic, noting that it contained less than a single truckload of aid, which was later delivered to Gaza via official humanitarian channels.
With the latest flotilla carrying prominent figures and heightened global attention, Israel now faces another looming showdown at sea.
