Departure delayed due to bad weather, logistical factors, organizer tells Anadolu
The Global Sumud Flotilla for Gaza’s departure from Tunisia has been postponed to Thursday, said an organizer.
“It was decided to postpone the departure of the Global Sumud Flotilla from Tunisia to Gaza to Thursday instead of today, Wednesday, due to bad weather and logistical reasons,” Nabil Chennoufi, a member of the steering committee of the Maghreb branch of the flotilla, told Anadolu.
“We will wait until dawn tomorrow to then decide on the departure, taking into account weather conditions, and to give an opportunity to address some logistical shortcomings,” he added.
Chennoufi denied that the postponement was due to fears of the fleet being targeted.
“There is no such reason. This morning, we had a security meeting with all the agencies, and they granted us authorization to depart and were even urging us to set sail.”
He stressed that “the main reason for the delay is the change in weather conditions due to rain and wind.”
Regarding the number of ships that will take part in the fleet’s departure, he said “around 36 ships are involved, two or three of which are not fully ready to sail, but they may join us later.”
He added that the number of participants totals “between 500 and 700.”
Chennoufi confirmed that “the number of participating ships will increase after meeting up with the Italian and Spanish boats. Today, we were also informed that the Egyptian state allowed an Egyptian vessel to depart and granted it authorization.”
There was no immediate comment from Egyptian authorities regarding his statement.
The fleet had been scheduled to set sail Wednesday from Sidi Bou Said port near the Tunisian capital, Tunis, heading toward the Gaza Strip in what is considered the largest maritime mission to the enclave.
Earlier Wednesday, thousands of Tunisians gathered at the port and beach of Sidi Bou Said to show their support for the fleet, their solidarity with the Palestinian cause, and their rejection of Israel’s genocide and blockade of Gaza.
Participants raised Palestinian and Tunisian flags and chanted slogans in support of Gaza, most notably: “With our soul and blood, we sacrifice for you, Palestine,” “Here we are, here we are, Oh Aqsa,” “Gaza, Gaza, symbol of pride,” “Freedom for Palestine” and “Stop the genocide.”
On Sunday, about 20 ships from Spain, part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, began arriving in Tunisia in preparation for heading toward Gaza to break Israel’s blockade and open a humanitarian corridor to deliver aid.
At the end of August, around 20 ships set sail within the flotilla from the port of Barcelona, Spain along with another convoy that departed from the port of Genoa in northwestern Italy.
The flotilla is made up of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the Global Movement to Gaza, the Maghreb Sumud Flotilla and the Malaysian Nusantara Resistance Organization, bringing together hundreds of activists from more than 40 countries.
This marks the first time such a large number of ships have sailed together toward Gaza, whereas in the past, Israel intercepted individual ships heading to the territory, seized them and deported the activists on board.
Since March 2, Israel has closed all crossings leading into Gaza, blocking any food, medicine or humanitarian aid, plunging the territory into famine despite the piling up of relief trucks at its borders.
