International Gaza-bound flotilla nears high-risk Israeli zone

ISTANBUL

The Global Sumud Flotilla, an international initiative aimed at reaching the Gaza Strip to lift the Israeli siege and deliver humanitarian aid, is about 150 nautical miles away from the enclave and closing to a high-risk zone, according to a statement from the organization on Tuesday.

“Today, we are going to approach the 150 nautical mile zone, which is the zone after which Israel is known to start kidnapping people from boats,” Roos Ykema, an activist from the Netherlands, said in a video statement.

On July 26, Israeli naval forces intercepted the Handala aid ship as it neared Gaza’s shores and escorted it to Ashdod Port. The vessel had reached about 70 nautical miles from Gaza, surpassing the distance covered by the Madleen, which made it 110 miles before it had been stopped.

“I call on my government to demand safe passage,” the activist said. “I demand of Israel to lift the siege, to stop the blockade, stop the genocide, allow food into Gaza, because the Palestinian people are starving.”

“We are about 420 kilometers (nearly 226 nautical miles) away from reaching Gaza,” the International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza said through the US social media company X early Tuesday.

The Global Sumud Flotilla has begun 24/7 live-streaming from some of its boats on YouTube as a precaution against possible Israeli attacks.

“As we approach the high risk ‘orange zone’ we need eyes on the Flotilla! Witness provides protection,” the organization said in a statement, calling on supporters globally to pile pressure on their governments and international institutions for the protection and safe passage of its vessels.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, made up of about 50 ships with over 500 activists onboard, set sail earlier this month to break Israel’s blockade and deliver humanitarian aid, particularly medical supplies, to the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army has killed over 66,000 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.