ISTANBUL

The ships of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla converged near Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday before setting off to the Gaza Strip to break an Israeli blockade on the Palestinian enclave, organizers said.

Many vessels that set sail from Spain, Tunisia, and Libya have reached near southern Sicily, joining the Italian ships that were waiting for their arrival, the Global Sumud Flotilla said on the US social media company X.

The official flotilla tracker showed nearly 40 vessels present in southern Sicily, as Greek boats are still on their way to join them.

“More boats are joining the mission, strengthening the fleet on its way to Gaza,” the global initiative said in a separate statement.

On Tuesday, the International Committee to Break the Israeli Siege of Gaza said all ships will set sail together toward the shores of Gaza after gathering near Malta.

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 more than 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.