TUNIS, Tunisia/ISTANBUL

The Maghreb Sumud Flotilla announced late Wednesday that the 13th of its 23 ships had set sail from Tunisia toward the Gaza Strip as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla to break the Israeli blockade imposed on the enclave for the past 18 years.

In a video posted on the US social media company Facebook’s platform, the flotilla said the ship departed from Gammarth port north of the Tunisian capital en route to Gaza.

Earlier Wednesday, Jawaher Shanna, a member of the Maghreb Sumud Flotilla, told Anadolu that 12 ships belonging to the flotilla had already sailed from Tunisia toward Gaza and another was preparing to depart later the same day.

Dozens of Tunisians gathered at the port to mark the ship’s departure, chanting slogans including “Gaza, symbol of dignity,” “On our way to Gaza, millions of martyrs,” “With our souls, with our blood, we sacrifice for you Palestine” and “Free Palestine, Zionists out.”

The Global Sumud Flotilla said on the US social media company X’s platform that six boats with 26 Greeks and 20 international activists onboard have set sail from Syros, Greece and “are on the way to unite with the solidarity fleet en route to Gaza.”

On Tuesday, the International Committee to Break the Israeli Siege of Gaza said all ships will gather near Malta before sailing together toward the shores of the Palestinian enclave.

The current convoy is the largest of its kind, aiming to challenge the blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, where famine conditions have taken hold under Israel’s months-long closure of all crossings.

The Israeli army has killed over 65,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases.