Activists announce new, bigger aid flotilla to set sail for Gaza in March

Organizers of Gaza-bound aid flotilla that Israel seized at sea last year say they are planning a new, larger mission next month.

The global Sumud flotilla announced Thursday that it would embark more than 100 boats carrying 1,000 activists, including medics and war crimes investigators, to Gaza in March.

Gathered at the late South African leader Nelson Mandela’s foundation in Johannesburg, activists described the endeavor as the largest civil mobilization ever against Israel’s actions in Gaza.

“This is a cause… for those who want to stand up and defend justice and dignity for all,” said Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, who was among the activists arrested by Israel during last year’s trip.

The flotilla will be supported by a land convoy through neighboring Arab countries, which is expected to attract thousands of additional supporters, Mandela added.

Last October, the Israeli military intercepted around 40 boats from the global Sumud flotilla as they transported aid to blockaded Gaza, arresting more than 450 participants, including Mandela, Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and MEP Rima Hassan. Several detainees alleged physical and psychological abuse while he was being held by the Israelis.

Israeli officials had denounced this flotilla and previous, smaller-scale efforts “to deliver aid to Gaza as publicity stunts.” Flotilla organizers said they were acting to break Israel’s “illegal” siege of the enclave and charged that Israel’s seizure of their ships violated international maritime law.

Israel has severely restricted aid supplies since launching a genocidal war against the Palestinians in Gaza, causing famine-like conditions in the enclave, according to activists and humanitarians. Some aid has reached the enclave since a “ceasefire” started in Octoberbut the UN says that amount falls far short of what is needed to meet urgent needs.

While flotilla activists expect Israel to try again to prevent their passage, they say international law is on their side and their trip will draw attention to the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

“We may not have reached Gaza physically [but] we have reached… the people of Gaza,” said one of the activists, Susan Abdallah. “They know that we care, that we will stop at nothing until we actually break the siege.”