Barcelona — In a striking show of defiance against Israel’s years-long blockade, a fleet of nearly 20 vessels, known as the Global Sumud Flotilla, set sail from Barcelona on Sunday carrying food, medicine, and water to the besieged people of Gaza. The mission brings together activists, aid workers, and prominent cultural figures from 44 countries, marking the largest civilian maritime effort since Israel tightened its blockade nearly two decades ago.
Among those aboard was Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, whose presence brought international visibility to the mission. She was joined by American actress Susan Sarandon, Irish actor Liam Cunningham, and former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau. Together, they declared that their journey was not only about aid delivery but also about challenging what they described as an unlawful system of collective punishment imposed on Palestinians.
Crowds in Barcelona cheered as the ships departed, waving Palestinian flags and chanting solidarity slogans. Organizers emphasized that the flotilla represented not only humanitarian urgency but also political will, a message to governments that have largely stood idle while famine grips Gaza.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 300 people, including children, have died from malnutrition in recent months. Hospitals are collapsing, essential supplies have vanished, and families face starvation as Israeli bombardments and restrictions tighten. Activists warned that without immediate international intervention, Gaza risks descending into what one aid worker called “a graveyard for children.”
The flotilla’s launch follows a pattern of previous attempts to break the blockade. In June, Thunberg was among those detained by Israeli naval forces after her ship, the Madleen, was intercepted in international waters. She and others were deported, in what she denounced as a violation of international maritime law and human rights. That interception only galvanized support for Sunday’s larger, more coordinated effort.
Israel, meanwhile, has routinely defended its actions by citing “security needs.” Yet critics argue these operations amount to nothing short of a systematic campaign to crush Gaza’s civilian population by starvation and deprivation. Despite evidence of worsening famine and humanitarian collapse, few Western capitals have spoken out, leaving Gaza isolated and abandoned.
What remains clear is that Gaza’s people now stand almost entirely alone. Environmental and humanitarian activists who have attempted to deliver aid have been detained by Israel, while outside governments have done little more than issue statements. Palestinians, facing hunger and bombardment, are left to fight for survival in a world that looks away. As one activist put it, history may judge Israel’s blockade as a crime of staggering cruelty, one that even the darkest chapters of the past did not envision.
Greta Thunberg’s deportation by Israeli forces during her first Gaza mission in June was documented, which reported on her detention and expulsion after the aid vessel was seized in international waters. That report remains a vital reference to understanding the trajectory of today’s unprecedented mission.
According to The Guardian, a new maritime mission, organized under the Global Sumud Flotilla banner, is set to depart from Barcelona with the explicit aim of “breaking the illegal siege of Gaza” and “opening a humanitarian corridor and ending the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.”
The vessels, which include climate campaigner Greta Thunberg among others, are expected to sail into the Gaza Strip in mid‑September. Demonstrators gathered at the port, urging that “no more silence” be tolerated in the face of what organizers call a deliberate strategy of deprivation against Gaza’s civilian population
