MADRID

The Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying more than 500 activists from around the world, is less than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from Gaza as it presses on with its attempt to challenge Israel’s long-running blockade, organizers said Thursday.

The nearly 50-vessel convoy, transporting medical supplies and other aid, reported 12 explosions across nine ships Wednesday after a night of drone harassment in international waters. The flotilla has not said who was behind the attacks. Israel — which has repeatedly warned it would block the mission — has so far made no comment.

Two Spanish activists aboard spoke to Anadolu by satellite link.

“The morale on the flotilla is high. We remain firm in our conviction and our humanitarian goal to open a corridor and break the criminal blockade,” said Alejandra Martinez, an activist aboard the Luga.

She said the attacks — drone flyovers, explosive impacts and at least one suspected chemical incident — were aimed at terrorizing participants and disabling smaller boats.

“These attacks were intended to generate terror — a psychological war against members of the flotilla — to make us turn back and abandon our mission,” she said.

She warned: “If the international community does not act now, tomorrow’s attack will be worse and there will be deaths.”

Despite the incidents, Martinez said the convoy remains committed to its entirely peaceful effort to deliver urgently needed aid to Gaza.

Another activist, Alicia Armesto, said international backing has been limited.

“Considering there are 44 different nationalities involved, many countries have yet to provide support for this humanitarian initiative. We simply want to deliver aid to Gaza and break the blockade,” she told Anadolu.

The activists said they are prepared for possible Israeli intervention but plan to remain nonviolent.

“Our main task will be to demonstrate at all times that we are peaceful and have not come to fight, but simply to open a humanitarian corridor and protect ourselves so that we can return home safely,” Armesto said.

Organizers call the Global Sumud Flotilla the largest such mission in nearly two decades. It aims to reach Gaza’s 2.4 million residents, who remain under an Israeli blockade for 18 years.

The Israeli army has killed more than 65,400 Palestinians — most of them women and children — in Gaza since October 2023. The bombardment has devastated the enclave, leaving it largely uninhabitable and pushing civilians into starvation and disease.