French-based boats depart Marseille to join Gaza aid flotilla

MARSEILLE

Around 20 boats from France set sail from the southern city of Marseille on Saturday to join the "2026 Spring Mission" of the Global Sumud Flotilla to break Israel's Gaza blockade and deliver humanitarian aid.

Preparations are ongoing for the mission, which aims to break Israel's blockade on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid by departing from various Mediterranean ports.

After weeks of preparation, the participating boats from France left Marseille and are heading to Italy.

Their sails featured traditional Palestinian tatreez embroidery motifs, as well as images of Handala, a symbol of Palestinian resistance.

Residents of Marseille waved Palestinian flags and bid farewell to the flotilla with applause and slogans expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people and Gaza.

Representatives of the civil society organizations behind the initiative held a press conference at L’Estaque Port.

A member of the Thousand Madleens to Gaza movement, Nozha Trabelsi, stated that the situation in Gaza continued to worsen and has effects beyond the territory itself.

She said the concept of a ceasefire is misleading, recalling that 10 people were killed during the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident and that conditions for Palestinians have continued to deteriorate.

Another member of the same movement, Esther Le Cordier, explained that each boat represented different themes, such as prisoners, children, and medical personnel, all of whom she said are being targeted in Gaza.

She emphasized that the flotilla alone cannot bring change and called on citizens’ groups, associations, trade unions, and local communities to organize mass actions on land in support of Palestine.

Linda Sehili from the Solidaires union noted that they are mobilizing to end economic cooperation with what she described as Israel's far-right government.

Pierre Stambul, a spokesperson for the Union of Jewish French for Peace (UJFP), said Israel should be viewed as a colonial state and referred to the displacement of Palestinians in 1948 as a historical reality that cannot be ignored.

Claude Leostic from the France Palestine Solidarity Association expressed shame over what he considered the complicity of political leaders and called for it to end.

He demanded sanctions against Israel and warned that famine in Gaza is again becoming a serious risk due to ongoing closures.

The first Global Sumud sea mission began in mid-2025, and in October, Israeli naval forces attacked and seized more than 40 boats that were part of the humanitarian aid flotilla.

Tel Aviv detained more than 450 activists who were on board. Many told their hair-raising stories of abuse at the hands of their Israeli captors.

Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million, for nearly 18 years and tightened the siege in March when it closed border crossings and blocked food and medicine deliveries, pushing the enclave into famine.