“We keep sailing.” With that phrase, disseminated in the early hours of this Thursday through its social networks, the Global Flotilla Sumud He has confirmed that about thirty ships that make up his fleet continue his journey to Gaza, despite the assault of Israel and the interception of other thirteen vessels. The organization has placed its ships about 46 nautical miles of the Gazatí enclave, something like about 85 kilometers. “The illegal interceptions of Israel will not dissuade us. We continue with our mission to break the blockade and open a humanitarian corridor,” added the organization’s spokesman.
Israeli operations began on Wednesday night, still in international waters, about 80 miles from Gaza. The flotilla has denounced that the soldiers rammed one of the boats and attacked others with water cannons, in addition to cutting live broadcasts and leaving the crew incommunicado. The intercepted ships are the Aurora, Dir Yassine, the Great Blu, El Hio, El Huga, El Morgana, El Otaria, the Seulle, the Specter and the Yular, together with the first three retained, the Adara, the Soul and the Sirius. In the latter, the former mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, was traveling, who recorded a message before being arrested in which he warned that they would be “absolutely incommunicado” if Israel proceeded to assault.
In total, some 200 crew members have been arrested aboard these thirteen boats. According to Flotilla itself, among them there are 30 Spaniards, 22 Italians, 21 Turks, 12 Malaysians, 11 Tunisians, 11 Brazilians and ten French. The list of nationalities is extended to nine Irish, eight Algerians, seven Americans, seven Germans, six British, four Norwegians, four Swedes and three citizens of Morocco, Jordan, Poland, Mexico and Portugal. There are also two people from Kuwait, Colombia and Switzerland, in addition to a citizen from the Czech Republic, Mauritania, Austria, Bulgaria, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Bahrain, the Netherlands, Finland, South Africa and Slovakia. The organization ensures that it does not know the situation and the state of all of them.
The Israeli government offers another version. The Foreign Ministry has reported in its official X account that the ships were arrested “safely” and that their passengers are being transferred to the port of ApDod. In the same message, Israeli diplomacy introduced an ironic tone by ensuring that “Greta [Thunberg] And his friends are healthy and saved ”, in allusion to the environmental activist who participates in the mission.
The flotilla, on the other hand, insists that the 30 ships that remain in navigation advance “making their way away from military ships” and that their crew “are determined and motivated” to reach the banks of Gaza. The statement emphasizes that the “illegal” interceptions will not stop a mission that is declared peaceful and that has been raised as a humanitarian operation against the blockade imposed by Israel on the strip.
The assault has triggered a series of diplomatic reactions on several continents. In Colombia, President Gustavo Petro ordered the withdrawal of diplomatic personnel in Israel and announced that he will initiate the process to leave the Free Trade Agreement with Tel Aviv, after qualifying as “kidnapping” the arrest of two Colombian citizens. In Latin America, Chile and Bolivia also pronounced, which supported the mission and denounced what they consider disproportionate to force, while Venezuela described the operation as an “act of piracy.”
In Asia, the Malaysian government, with twelve retained citizens, strongly condemned Israel’s performance, which he accused of intimidation and coercion against civilians. Türkiye went further and spoke of a “terrorist act” against a humanitarian mission. In Europe, the governments of Spain and France demanded that Israel guarantee the integrity and security of flotilla participants, while other countries with detainees, such as Mexico, Germany or Ireland, have closely followed the progress of the situation.
The impact of the assault has also moved to the social level. On Wednesday night, demonstrations were recorded in Rome, Athens, Brussels, Berlin, Naples, Istanbul and Barcelona, as well as in Capitals of Latin America such as Bogotá, where dozens of people blocked the streets. In Italy, unions have called a general strike for Friday in protest of the retention of Italian citizens in international waters. The main solidarity marches are planned throughout this Thursday, in a climate of uncertainty about the outcome of the journey.
The Sumud flotilla is thus at a critical point. Israel has managed to stop a substantial part of the expedition, but has not stopped the whole. Thirty ships maintain the course towards Gaza and the episode has become a focus of international attention that combines diplomatic pressure, citizen mobilization and the unknown of what may happen in recent miles before reaching the strip.
