An aid flotilla of dozens of boats that had set sail for Gaza yesterday has returned to port in Barcelona due to stormy weather, organisers said.
“We conducted a sea trial and then returned to port to allow the storm to pass. This meant delaying our departure to avoid risking complications with the smaller boats,” the Global Sumud Flotilla Mission said in a statement, adding winds had been up to around 56kp/h.
The organisers did not say when they planned to resume the journey.
A Co Laois nurse, who is among several Irish people taking part in the flotilla, said the aim is to break the siege on Gaza.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, mother-of-four Ms Lawlor said: “The most important thing on the boats is we carry only humanitarian aid.
“All of this aid has been checked by independent humanitarian agencies and for security, and also to verify it is purely humanitarian aid – medicines, food and whatever equipment we can bring.”
Ms Lawlor said space is limited as the boats are also full of civilians but that they all have “a common heart and soul, and that is for humanity”.
“And that’s what this mission comes down to. We are all very frustrated that our governments – our own Government – and across the world are not taking action against a literal genocide.”
Helen Lawlor said the most important thing on the boat is humanitarian aid
She said the aim of the flotilla is to break the siege on Gaza: “Our aim is to break that siege, to get this aid to people who are being forcibly starved to death.”
Poet Sarah Clancy and novelist Naoise Dolan are also among the Irish contingent.
The United Nations declared a state of famine in the territory this month, warning that 500,000 people face “catastrophic” conditions.
The Global Sumud Flotilla describes itself as an independent group not linked to any government or political party. Sumud means perseverance in Arabic.
Israel has already blocked two attempts by activists to deliver aid by ship to Gaza, in June and July.
Watch: ‘This is a shameful period in the history of the world’ – Cunningham
Irish actor Liam Cunningham, who is supporting the flotilla, said what is happening in Gaza is a “shameful period in the history of the world”.
Organisers say that dozens of other vessels are expected to leave Tunisian and other Mediterranean ports on 4 September.
People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Paul Murphy said that he will travel to Tunis in Tunisia to join the flotilla.
Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, who is part of the flotilla’s steering committee, said activists will stage simultaneous demonstrations and other protests in 44 countries “in solidarity with the Palestinian people”.
Ms Lawlor said that “we’re very, very hopeful to reach Gaza and we’ve prepared for every eventuality”.
She said a lot of planning and training has gone into the mission including risk assessments.
Greta Thunberg boarding a ship of the Global Sumud Flotilla in Barcelona at the weekend
“This isn’t a willy-nilly group of people jumping on a few boats. This is a movement of a lot of coalitions involved, who have come together with that aim, and that is our hope that we will break that illegal siege and reach Gaza and create a humanitarian corridor for more aid to reach Gaza.
“This is a high-risk mission, but it is a mission of hope and it’s a mission of desperation because we, as civilians, have been put in this position and we refuse to be complicit in a genocide.
“It’s intolerable to watch what is happening in Gaza and what has been happening there, not just since 7 October, but for years,” added Ms Lawlor.
The war in Gaza was triggered by a cross-border attack by Palestinian group Hamas into Israel on 7 October 2023, which resulted in the death of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 63,371 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The UN considers those figures reliable.
Additional reporting AFP/Reuters