More than 20 boats return day after setting sail due to unsafe weather conditions
The flotilla of more than 20 boats that set sail Sunday to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza returned to the port of Barcelona on Monday.
“Due to unsafe weather conditions, we conducted a sea trial and then returned to port to allow the storm to pass,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement.
“Facing over 30 knot winds and the unpredictable nature of the Mediterranean, we made this decision to prioritize the safety and well-being of all participants and to safeguard the success of our mission,” it added.
Around 200 activists, politicians, and artists from 44 countries set sail Sunday from Barcelona after a large rally in support of their mission.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Irish actor Liam Cunningham, Spanish actor Eduardo Fernandez, and former Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau are among those taking part in the voyage.
“Every ship sailing towards Gaza is a cry for human dignity. This mission is not a threat – it is an act of humanity against barbarity,” said Fernandez on Sunday. “Silence is complicity. And silence kills as much as bombs do.”
Organizers say the flotilla will be joined by more ships departing from Italy and Tunisia, bringing the total to more than 500 people and around 60 vessels.
It hopes to reach Gaza by mid-September.
Thunberg said that everything possible must be tried to end the Gaza blockade.
“Every day, more people are waking up and realizing the scale of Israel’s massacres and genocide,” she said Sunday. “Today’s news is not that this flotilla is setting out, but rather how the world can remain silent and how politicians can betray and abandon the Palestinian people.”
Thunberg participated in another flotilla mission earlier this year. That ship was intercepted and seized by Israel, which eventually deported its 12-member crew.
Israel has killed over 63,500 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
