Humanitarian flotilla ships are intercepted by Israel near Gaza

Other humanitarian aid flotillas that tried to help Gaza during the war were stopped in the same region where boats are right now. On other occasions, its occupants were detained by the army of Israel and taken to the country of Netanyahu, being deported then.

Flotilha left Barcelona in September

The Global Sumud flotilha (word meaning “resilience” in Arabic) left Barcelona in early September. It has 40 boats with hundreds of pro-Palestinian militants from over 40 countries. After leaving Spain, the flotilla stopped 10 days in Tunisia before resuming the trip on September 15.

There are 15 Brazilians on the vessels that headed for Gaza, including activist Thiago Ávila, who was arrested in another flotilla. They are also towards Gaza: Lucas Gusmão, Mohamed El Kadri and João Aguiar, activists of pro-Palestini groups; Mariana Conti and Gabrielel Tolotti, PSOL councilwoman and state president; Luizianne Lins, PT deputy; Ariadne Telles, Bruno Gilga and Magno Carvalho Costa, militants; Mansur Peixoto, researcher; Carina Faggiani and Nicolas Calabrese, teachers and Lisiane Proença, agitator cultural, and journalist Hassan Massoud.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, the MEP Franco-Palestina Rima Hassan and former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau are also part of the mission. Greta has also been in a previous flotilla, which was stopped by the Israeli forces before reaching the enclave.

The purpose of the trip, according to activists, is “breaking blockade to Gaza” and providing “humanitarian aid to a besieged population that faces hunger and genocide.” More than 400 people starved in Gaza since the beginning of the war, most of them this year, after two months of total impediment of humanitarian aid entry into the region.