The Global Sumud Flotilla, which set sail from Sicily last Sunday, has been warned. The Israeli navy, self-identified in a radio message, approached several ships of the flotilla in international waters off the coast of Greece, at a time when they were on their way to try to divert the passage of a cargo ship bound for Israel. The communication systems between the ships and the emergency channels were intervened. The flotilla, which initially believed it was a full intervention, asked its participants to prepare to be approached by soldiers.
Military boats, self-identified as “Israel,” approached the boats, pointing laser weapons and ordering the participants to kneel from outside the boats. Because communications were blocked, only the ships accompanying the flotilla – including those of the NGOs Open Arms and Greenpeace – received a radio message from one of the Israeli military ships ordering them not to continue towards Gaza. Any attempt to bring aid to the Strip “went against international law” and had to be directed to the port of Ashdod, the Israeli navy stated in the message. If it continued, the Israeli army would intercept the entire flotilla.
The flotilla—except for the anchorage off Crete, which was interrupted by the diversion of the flotilla to another location in Greece. Along the way, the flotilla planned and combined its objective of reaching the Strip with pressure actions in international waters, such as. The flotilla that left Spain—41 boats, along with those of Open Arms and Greenpeace—had been joined by around twenty boats from the Italian flotilla, including nine provided by the Sumud Nusantara delegation from Malaysia-Indonesia. A dozen more are expected to join against Türkiye. If it reaches Gaza, it would be the largest attempt to date to break the blockade of the Strip.
The UN special rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese, had asked to review the movement’s strategy after the latest failed attempts. On April 22, he had questioned the effectiveness of trying to reach Palestine due to the high probability of interception by Israel, without direct impact on the material infrastructure of the conflict: “We have an opportunity to reflect on what has not worked. Performance alone is not enough,” he said at an interparliamentary assembly organized by the flotilla in Brussels, where there were also parliamentarians from other continents.
Albanese advocated for coordinated operations targeting logistics, ports and supply chains. At the same assembly, hundreds of parliamentarians signed a declaration reaffirming the right of the Palestinian people to freely access their waters and territory, including the entry of aid through international channels. “We always say that strategies are diverse; people can prioritize one action or another. If they want to block ports, let them do it,” responded Saif Abukeshek, member of the steering committee of the Global Sumud Flotilla.
The flotilla had targeted the Israeli shipping company ZIM, a company that is closely linked to the history of Israel and the consolidation of the State. During the first years it was in charge of transporting thousands of Jewish migrants and was one of the main maritime suppliers during the Arab-Israeli war. ZIM maintains agreements with the Ministry of Defense to transport military cargo and part of the war material from the United States.
Before the approach of the Israeli navy, some participants – captains and crew – had resigned from the flotilla due to the lack of transparency in security matters. Management had committed to regularly sharing reports, but these have been transmitted only orally. “We are fixing the ships and they only call us for meetings to shout ‘Free Palestine’. I know why we are here, and it is to get to Gaza, but many of us want more clarity about security information,” explained a captain who, due to internal rules, must remain anonymous.
“The risks do not depend on us; there is a risk of drones, of interception, of aggression by soldiers; they depend on how Israel acts,” responded Abukeshek, who added that the security of the flotilla depends largely on media, state and civil society support.
A draft of one of the first security reports, leaked by the US delegation, warns that a possible escalation with Iran could toughen the Israeli response in the event of interception. The document also points out that the lesser involvement of European forces in the area has reduced the possibilities of international supervision or accompaniment, as in previous missions.
Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza for almost two decades and, despite the existence of a supposed ceasefire, the Israeli army has killed 800 people in the Strip, according to the latest United Nations report on Palestine. The Israeli Prime Minister met with his Defense Minister last Wednesday to address what the latter has described as “the Hamas flotilla” and has prohibited the entry of civilian aid from abroad. “They are not welcome,” he stated. “It is a planned hunger policy; the aid that Israel distributes does so under conditions and is almost non-existent,” said Cele Fierro, a parliamentarian from Buenos Aires aboard one of the boats.
