When armed Israeli soldiers approached a boat flotilla that tried to deliver food and medicine to Gaza on Wednesday night (1), two Glasgow web developers strive to track vessels while millions of people around the world watched live to monitor the fate of activists.
Pictures of the onboard cameras broadcast live attacks on the flotilha website, developers updated the status of boats in real time and published short videos of each outlet.
The clicks were unprecedented, according to them: the site recorded 2.5 million visits on Wednesday and 3.5 million on Thursday (2).
“I have never seen numbers like these – never on a site I have already created,” said Lizzie Malcolm, a rectangle codirer, design and software development studio that helped track the vessels on behalf of the organizers.
The Global Sumud flotilla sought to break the Israeli naval blockade to Gaza, a territory decimated by Israeli attacks two years ago.
It consisted of more than 40 civil boats, carrying about 500 parliamentarians, lawyers and activists, including.
The flotilla could not reach Gaza – the boats were intercepted and escorted to Israel. But over ten days, it emerged as the most prominent opposition to Israeli blockade. Driven by this advertising, another 11 boat flotilla warded towards the Gaza Strip.
At least and most were detained by Israel and must be deported.
Through a sophisticated social networking campaign, updated boat tracking technology, intelligent website design and popular organization, the mission has gained enormous attention and support, boosting a global movement to suspend blockade.
Although Israel claims that his naval block is legal while fighting Hamas militants in the coastal region, and authorities have repeatedly denounced, the flotilla has ample support.
The seizure of Wednesday (1st) triggered protests in cities throughout Europe and in places as distant as Argentina, Mexico and Pakistan, and attracted criticism from politicians and leaders from Colombia to Malaysia.
Mission to help Gaza created a movement
Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza for the first time in 2007, when Hamas assumed control of the territory, but activists’ efforts to make the population aware since the beginning of the war in October 2023, triggered by the attack of Hamas to Israel.
This latest campaign has gained more attention than ever.
Flotilla has benefited and contributed to a broader political change since June, which has seen countries such as France and the United Kingdom in a reaction to the Israeli offensive, analyzed Dan Mercea, a professor of digital and social change at St. George’s, University of London.
“The cultural impact is beginning to appear. It’s not just the flotilla, but they are making a difference.”
An attempt in June of the Marcha to Gaza group, in which activists should march to Rafah’s Egyptian border with Gaza, was frustrated when Egypt deported dozens of activists.
Others, but their efforts received less attention.
In June, organizations such as the March to Gaza held a meeting in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, in which they discussed the possibility of uniting.
“The idea was that something bigger was necessary. There were discussions about how to communicate with people and an exchange of knowledge,” said Antonis Faras, from the Greek contingent of the Marcha to Gaza movement.
Mission has received support from the beginning
The Global Sumud flotilla was born with a clear mission: to break the Israeli block.
The organization had enormous support from the beginning. When he sent an invitation to participate, he received 20,000 registrations, said Faras.
In Italy, a charity called Music 4 Peace began to raise donations, with a goal of 40 tons. In five days, they raised more than 500 tons.
Throughout Europe, the missions began to prepare. The Greek contingent hired 25 boats from every continent. When he asked for donations, he received more than he could transport.
In Italy, local organizers cultivated relations with unions, which supported the flotilla with strikes and actions in various ports.
This popular connection began on Wednesday (1st): a few hours after Israeli interception, people were on the streets in protest, and the unions called one.
The movement was divided into countries, each with its own spokesman.
“The success of the protests stems from the fact that each region has worked meticulously in its territory … This structure proved to work,” said Maria Elena Delia, spokesman for the Italian delegation.
LIVE TRANSMISSION OF NAVIGATION
Flotilha sent regular updates through social networks X, Telegram and Instagram and made a press conferences via Zoom with activists on board. Nelson Mandela’s grandson was on board. Thunberg gave interviews from the deck of the ship.
There were and tracking devices of enhanced ships. In Glasgow, Malcolm and his partner Daniel Powers, who collaborated with the London -based Forensic Architecture research group, benefited from additional tracking features, including Garmin backup and even cell phones if other methods failed.
The onboard cameras provided passengers a rare live vision on Wednesday night, when the Israeli Navy demanded that the captains turn off the engines as the soldiers boarded the boats with weapons and night vision glasses.
As part of a awake security protocol, the activists were sitting with life jackets and their hands up.
Malcolm and Powers watched their studio images in Glasgow as the night advanced, updating the list of boats and changing their status, one by one, from “sailing” to “intercepted.”
“We have seen how much people want to watch it. This does something. There is something positive in that – you really encourage them to get there,” Malcolm exclaimed.
