Suleyman Elcin
19 May 2026•Update: 19 May 2026
Escorted by Turkish Coast Guard units, a boat taking part in the Gaza-bound Global Sumud humanitarian aid flotilla was brought to a marina in Antalya, southern Türkiye, on Tuesday after suffering a malfunction at sea.
Sumeyra Akdeniz Ordu, a member of the flotilla’s board of directors, told Anadolu that there were 27 people on board the vessel, called the Family, from countries including Argentina, Egypt, France, Italy, Ireland, Germany, Tunisia, Morocco, and Mexico. Fourteen of them were health care workers.
Ordu said the group had spent an extended period at sea in an effort to break what she described as the illegal blockade on Gaza.
“We were continuing our journey to provide both technical and medical aid to Gaza. We had a technical failure at sea and had to wait for some time. The Turkish Coast Guard assisted us and we returned to a port in Türkiye,” she said.
Ordu said the flotilla’s goal is to deliver medical assistance to Palestinians in Gaza with the help of volunteer doctors.
On the other vessels in the aid flotilla, Ordu said they remain in contact with crews still heading toward Gaza.
“It feels like we’re in a movie. It’s a source of pride for us that the ships whose crews didn’t take part in Israel’s games are now headed at full speed towards Gaza,” she said, referring to Israel’s Monday attack on the international flotilla.
Ordu described the Family as a “vessel of resilience,” saying it was the first ship to come under attack while docked in Tunisia.
“That’s why it also carries great symbolic value for us,” she said. “Our aim is to continue using this vessel as much as we can for the Palestinian cause and to appeal to public opinion.”
She added that the flotilla plans to resume its mission.
“People from all countries, regardless of religion, language, or race, have come together and we’ve felt like a family, just like the name of the vessel.
“We’re now in the process of moving to Plan B and Plan C, God willing,” Ordu said.
The Israeli army on Monday attacked the Gaza-bound Global Sumud humanitarian aid flotilla in international waters and detained around 100 activists as the mission sought to break Israel’s long-standing blockade on the Palestinian enclave.
*Writing by Fatma Zehra Solmaz in Istanbul
