The Global Sumud Flotilla, an international mission seeking to break the Israeli blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, is now roughly 150 nautical miles from the enclave, entering a highly contested and high-risk zone, the organization said Tuesday.
“Today, we approach the 150-nautical-mile mark – the point beyond which Israel has been known to seize vessels,” Dutch activist Roos Ykema said in a video statement.
The flotilla follows previous interception incidents.
On July 26, Israeli naval forces intercepted the Handala aid ship near Gaza and redirected it to Ashdod Port after it had reached roughly 70 nautical miles from the coast.
The vessel fell short of the 110-mile distance reached by the earlier Madleen mission before it was stopped.
“I call on my government to demand safe passage,” Ykema said. “I demand that Israel lift the siege, stop the blockade, allow food into Gaza, because the Palestinian people are starving.”
“We are about 420 kilometers (roughly 226 nautical miles) away from Gaza,” the International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza said on X, the U.S.-based social media platform, early Tuesday.
The flotilla has begun 24/7 live streaming from some of its boats on YouTube as a precaution against possible Israeli attacks.
“As we approach the high-risk ‘orange zone,’ we need eyes on the flotilla! Witnessing provides protection,” the organization said in a statement, calling on supporters worldwide to pressure their governments and international institutions to ensure the vessels’ safe passage.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, made up of about 50 ships carrying more than 500 activists, set sail earlier this month to break Israel’s blockade and deliver humanitarian aid, particularly medical supplies, to the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave largely uninhabitable and contributed to widespread starvation and disease.
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