On board will pro-Palestinian activists, including Greta Thunberg and three Portuguese
The flotilla that left on Sunday to Gaza had to return to the port of Barcelona due to a storm on the Catalan coast. On board follows humanitarian aid and pro -Palestinian activists, including climate activist Greta Thunberg and three Portuguese – the only deputy of the BE, Mariana Mortágua, actress and model Sofia Aparício and activist Miguel Duarte.
“We performed a maritime test and then returned to Porto to let the storm pass. This meant postponing our departure to avoid risks with the smaller boats,” says a statement from Global Sumud Flotilla Mission, adding that the winds hit about 56 km/h.
The organization took advantage of what it describes as a “technical stop” to make final adjustments in the dozens of boats that make up the flotilla.
The vessels left at 3:00 pm on Sunday and should stop in Tunisia this Thursday. They had to return on Sunday night, but the intention is to return from the afternoon of Monday, according to the.
The humanitarian aid flotilla, also known as the Freedom Flotilha, aims to break Israel’s naval blockade and deliver food and other goods in Gaza, devastated for almost two years of the Israeli offensive.
Telavive justifies the naval block as necessary to prevent the smuggling of weapons to the terrorist group Hamas. Israel sees attempts to break this blockade, including one in which he participated Greta Thunberg in June, as a maneuver of advertising and support for Hamas.
Since 2008, about half a hundred flotillas have departed from Gaza, of which only the first five have managed to reach the destination. In 2010, the Freedom Flotilla movement was officially founded, which on this occasion was called Global Sumud Flotilla. The word Sumud translates from Arabic as “persistence” or “constant perseverance,” which is why they decided to give this name to the mission.
