A flotilla of ships departed from Barcelona to the Gaza Strip Sunday with humanitarian aid, activists, and celebrities on board seeking to break the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory. This comes as Israel has stepped up its offensive on Gaza City, reports the AP, limiting the deliveries of food and basic supplies in the north of the Palestinian territory. Food experts warned earlier this month that the city was in famine and that half a million people across the strip were facing catastrophic levels of hunger.
The Global Sumud Flotilla is carrying food, water, and medicine. Activists on board demanded safe passage to deliver the much-needed aid and the opening of a humanitarian sea corridor. The maritime convoy of about 20 boats and delegations from 44 countries is claimed to be the largest attempt to date to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip by sea, which has now lasted 18 years. They will be joined by more ships from ports in Italy, Greece, and Tunisia in the coming days, organizers said.
Thousands of supporters flocked to the Barcelona pier, some of them wearing kaffiyehs and chanting "Free Palestine!" and "Boycott Israel!" A wide variety of boats, flying Palestinian flags, were waiting to set sail, from run-down old luxury yachts to tiny wooden sailboats and industrial-looking vessels. "The story here is about Palestine. The story here is how people are being deliberately deprived of the very basic means to survive," said Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. She will be one of the most recognizable figures on the expedition, alongside actors Susan Sarandon and Liam Cunningham, as well as activists, politicians, and journalists.
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It is not the first time Thunberg has attempted to reach Gaza waters this year. She was deported in June when the ship she was traveling on with 11 other people was stopped by the Israeli military. "It has been very clear that Israel has been continuously violating international law by either attacking, unlawfully intercepting the boats in international waters, and continuously preventing the humanitarian aid from coming in," said Thunberg. Cunningham played a video showing a girl singing while planning her own funeral. The girl, Fatima, died four days ago, he said. "What sort of world have we slid into where children are making their own funeral arrangements?" Cunningham told reporters.
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