ISTANBUL 

The Global Sumud Flotilla is less than 80 nautical miles (148 kilometers) away from the Israel-blockaded Gaza Strip, organizers said on Wednesday. 

“We are a few hours away from Gaza to break the (Israeli) blockade, and deliver humanitarian aid to our people in the Strip,” Mohammed Qutaish, a Palestinian Dutch activist aboard the flotilla, said in a video statement. 

“The Global Sumud Flotilla is less than 80 nautical miles (148 kilometers) away from Gaza,” he said. 

Organizers earlier said that the convoy was sailing in the high-risk zone near Gaza’s coast. 

They said the flotilla vessels exceeded the point at which the Madleen aid ship was intercepted by Israeli naval forces, stressing that all participants are safe. 

“After a night of intimidation tactics by the Israeli military, we can confirm that our flotilla participants remained calm and followed all appropriate safety procedures,” they said. 

“We sail on undeterred by Israeli threats and tactics of intimidation,” the statement said, calling for supporters to pressure their governments for protection of the activists and monitor the movement of vessels via tracker and live stream. 

The flotilla, loaded mainly with humanitarian aid and medical supplies, set sail at the end of August and is expected to reach Gaza’s coast on Thursday morning under normal circumstances. 

This marks the first time in years that dozens of ships have sailed together toward Gaza, home to about 2.4 million Palestinians and under Israeli blockade for roughly 18 years. 

Israel tightened the siege further on March 2 by closing all border crossings and blocking food, medicine, and aid, pushing Gaza into famine despite aid trucks piling up at its borders. 

The Israeli army has killed over 66,100 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.