ANKARA

The International Committee to Break the Siege of Gaza announced Sunday that its 11-vessel convoy is now off the coast of Alexandria in international waters, approximately 560 kilometers (348 miles) from Gaza.

In a statement, the committee reaffirmed its mission, saying: “Our goal is Gaza – to break the siege, stop the ongoing extermination, and secure a maritime corridor.”

On Saturday, the committee announced that two additional boats had joined the latest wave of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s mission to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza, raising the total number of vessels en route to 11, after Israel attacked the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, a network of international civil society groups, has organized multiple attempts since 2010 to break the blockade of Gaza and highlight its humanitarian crisis.

Israeli naval forces attacked and seized vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla on Thursday and detained more than 470 activists from over 50 countries. The flotilla had been attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s blockade of the enclave.

Israel has maintained the blockade of Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for almost 18 years.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardments have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it uninhabitable, with the blockade also pushing Gaza to famine.