Barcelona — A humanitarian flotilla carrying desperately needed aid to Gaza finally sailed from Barcelona on Monday night, after stormy weather earlier in the day forced the convoy back to port. The mission, known as the Global Sumud Flotilla, represents the largest civilian attempt to pierce Israel’s brutal naval blockade and deliver relief to Palestinians trapped in a war-ravaged enclave.
The fleet of around 20 vessels includes activists, doctors, and high-profile cultural figures from 44 countries, among them Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Irish actor Liam Cunningham. Organizers said their mission is not only to bring food and medicine but also to confront what they call the “deliberate starvation” of Gaza’s population by Israel. Supporters expect the convoy to reach Gaza waters by mid-September.
The launch followed hours of delay after heavy winds forced the boats back to Barcelona port. When the skies cleared, the ships pushed off again to cheers from crowds waving Palestinian flags, a vivid reminder of the global solidarity building against Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
Human rights groups have long described Gaza as the world’s largest ‘open-air prison,’ where Gaza famine is a ‘man-made crisis’ and Israel’s blockade has manufactured famine, collapsed hospitals, and left more than two million civilians fighting for survival. Israel insists the cordon is needed for security, but critics across the globe dismiss this as an excuse for collective punishment.
Labor unions have also taken up the cause. Dockworkers in Genoa, Italy, warned that if Israel blocks or attacks the flotilla, they will push to shut down all European shipments bound for Israeli ports. Organizers called the threat a “warning shot against genocide profiteering.”
This is not Greta Thunberg’s first confrontation with Israel’s military machine. In June 2025, she was part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla aboard the aid vessel Madleen. That ship, packed with baby formula, flour, and medical supplies, was violently intercepted in international waters. Israeli forces sprayed toxic chemicals on board, detained the 12-person crew, and later deported Thunberg and others against their will, in what she denounced as a “kidnapping.” Several activists who resisted deportation were thrown into Israeli detention.
Far from being isolated, the assault on Thunberg’s vessel echoed Israel’s notorious record of attacking civilian missions to Gaza, including the 2010 Mavi Marmara massacre, when Israeli commandos killed nine activists, as the Guardian reported. Each time, Tel Aviv has attempted to smear participants as political agitators rather than address the glaring humanitarian crisis.
The current Global Sumud Flotilla, departing from Barcelona, Genoa, Tunis, and Catania, is a coordinated rebuke to Israel’s policy of starvation warfare. Organizers say more than 15,000 people have signed up across multiple legs of the mission, with thousands more supporting logistics on land.
Thunberg’s renewed involvement, alongside Cunningham and dozens of civil society leaders, underscores what organizers call the “moral bankruptcy” of Western governments that continue to arm Israel while Palestinians starve in Gaza by blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza. Their message is unflinching: if governments refuse to stop Israel’s genocide in Gaza, ordinary citizens will.
According to Reuters, the Global Sumud Flotilla left Barcelona late on September 1 after earlier weather delays, with organizers reaffirming their intent to defy Israel’s blockade and reach Gaza by mid-September. Previously UK and 26 countries demanded that Israel grant immediate press access to Gaza.
