Largest humanitarian flotilla departs for Gaza’s shores amid growing famine

Another humanitarian flotilla aiming to disrupt Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza departed Barcelona on Sunday, carrying supplies including food, water and medicine. With hundreds of activists from 44 countries sailing aboard dozens of ships, Global Sumud Flotilla says this will be its largest attempt at delivering much-needed aid to the enclave. 

“In August and September 2025, boats of all sizes will set sail from ports around the world, converging toward Gaza to open a humanitarian corridor by sea,” the group writes on its official website. “Independent of any government or political party, GSF is guided by a commitment to justice, dignity, and the sanctity of human life.”

Delivering aid amid Israel’s Gaza City takeover

Around 3:30 p.m. local time Sunday, the first of those boats set sail from a port in Barcelona. Thousands of supporters turned out to see the ships off. 

Over the next few days, the Barcelona ships will be joined by additional vessels stocked with food, water and medicine departing from Italy, Tunisia and Greece. 

The Global Sumud Flotilla’s departure comes days after Israel launched a full-scale invasion of Gaza City, and as famine grips swaths of the enclave and increasing numbers of Palestinians die from malnutrition-related causes. The renewed fighting led to “tactical pauses” in aid for Gazans as the United Nations warns of widespread starvation unless food and medical supplies are allowed to flow freely into the Gaza Strip.

The largest flotilla to date

Upwards of 70 vessels of various sizes will ultimately join the Global Sumud Flotilla. It is expected to reach Gaza’s maritime borders by Sept. 14 or 15. While Israel’s current war in Gaza is stretching into its 23rd month, the country’s blockade of Gaza by sea has lasted nearly two decades. 

“Israel [is] very clear about their genocidal intent. They want to erase the Palestinian nation. They want to take over the Gaza Strip,” activist Greta Thunberg said shortly before the flotilla left the docks. She added that politicians and world leaders are “failing to do their most basic, legal duties to act, to prevent a genocide, to stop their complicity and support for … the occupation and the genocide of Palestinians.” 

In the nearly two years since Israel launched its war in Gaza, more than 90% of the enclave’s Palestinian population has been displaced at least once. Some in the international community have also accused Israel of committing genocide and deliberately facilitating mass starvation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denies the accusations, though he has never provided evidence to contradict the claims of the international community. Similarly, a recent investigation found that Israeli military records suggest 83% of those killed in Gaza are civilians. The death toll currently stands at nearly 63,500. 

“Palestinians are being starved to death because there is a government that is intentionally starving those people to death,” said Saif Abukeshek, a flotilla spokesperson based in Barcelona. “There is a government that is intentionally bombing Palestinian kids and families every day for the purpose of killing as many Palestinians as possible.”

Abukeshek added, “When you bomb hospitals, when you bomb schools, when you bomb educational centres, your main aim is basically to … end the presence of the Palestinian population.” 

‘Important act of symbolic resistance’

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Mohamad Elmasry of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies called the flotilla “an important act of symbolic resistance.” However, he conceded that, while the sheer number of the ships will cause a logistical nightmare for the Israeli Defense Forces, the flotilla will probably be unsuccessful in its mission.

“Ultimately, they will be intercepted. They’ll be detained or otherwise sent back,” Elmasry said. “This is not going to solve the famine. What’s going to solve the famine, ultimately, is governments doing their job to stop genocide and deliberate starvation programmes.”

Similar efforts led by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition have already been unsuccessful in their attempts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza’s shores. 

On June 9, Israeli naval forces intercepted a British-flagged aid vessel, the Madleen, detaining Thunberg and a group of international volunteers. 

A previous attempt by the group had also failed in May after the crew said it was struck by a pair of drones while sailing near Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which did not officially respond to the accusations.

More recently, in July, the Handala was intercepted. Twenty-one activists and reporters aboard the ship were detained, while its cargo –– baby formula, food and medicine –– was seized. 

“It has been very clear that Israel has been continuously violating international law by either attacking, unlawfully intercepting the boats in international waters, and continuously preventing the humanitarian aid from coming in,” Thunberg told The Associated Press on Saturday.