The Global Somoud Flotilla, carrying life-saving humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, arrived in Tunisia after almost a week at sea in its last stop before heading to the enclave in a bid to break Israel’s siege.
The flotilla, comprising over 50 ships from at least 44 countries carrying around half a tonne of aid each, will meet with other participating boats over the next few days.
Journalist Mauricio Morales, who is on board one of the ships, said the morale was high as they approached the capital, Tunis. The flotilla stopped in Menorca for repairs after a storm, where Morales also confirmed the flotilla was initially forced back because of bad weather.
The mission was met by Tunisian police and local boats chanting “Viva Palestina” and waving Palestine flags. The flotilla plans to dock, after arranging the proper documents, for two days to stock up on food and water before setting off to Gaza on 10 September, where it is expected to take just over a week to reach.
Volunteers from across Europe and the Arab world are on board the largest aid flotilla as dozens of boats have departed from southern ports of Tunisia in a display of solidarity.
The crew includes Greta Thunberg, who was on board the Madleen aid mission, and Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela.
Israeli authorities plan to arrest the crew on board and place them in the Ketziot and Damon prisons, under plans by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The flotilla is named after the convoy that was intercepted by forces linked to the Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar near Sirte and was forced to turn back.
Previous aid missions have been blocked by Israeli forces, including the Handala, Marmara Blue and Madleen, where the navy illegally intercepted the vessels and detained and deported the crew on board.
The flotilla sets sail as Israel’s blocking of humanitarian aid has induced a nationwide famine which has since killed at least 387 Palestinians, including 138 children.
An estimated 900,000 children in Gaza are currently suffering from hunger, and at least 700,000 have reached clinical malnutrition.