A Qatari activist confirmed on Sunday that preparations are complete for the Gulf Solidarity Ship to join the Global Freedom Flotilla attempting to break Israel's blockade of Gaza, with departure set from Tunisia this Thursday.
Speaking to The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on condition of anonymity, the activist said the vessel will carry activists, rights defenders, and public figures from Gulf Cooperation Council states.
She explained that the list of participants will only be announced shortly before sailing "for security reasons, to ensure their safe arrival in Tunisia and confirm readiness".
The Gulf ship forms part of the Global Freedom Flotilla, launched from Barcelona on Sunday, in what organisers describe as the most ambitious attempt yet to challenge the blockade in place for more than 18 years.
Dozens of vessels carrying medical supplies, food aid, and campaigners from more than 44 countries will assemble in the Mediterranean before attempting to reach Gaza.
"This will be the largest solidarity mission in history," Brazilian activist Thiago Avila told journalists in Barcelona, stressing that "the number of people and ships will exceed all previous attempts to reach Gaza".
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who is a member of the flotilla’s steering committee, said the mission was designed not only to deliver humanitarian relief but also to demand international action.
"The ships in this flotilla will attempt to reach Gaza, deliver humanitarian aid, announce the opening of a humanitarian corridor, and then bring more aid, thereby finally breaking the illegal and inhumane Israeli blockade," she told AFP on Saturday.
Thunberg added that the flotilla represented a global stand against collective punishment and silence over the war.
Participants include European lawmakers and public figures such as former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said his government "will use all its diplomatic and consular resources to protect our citizens" aboard the flotilla.
The Gulf Solidarity Ship’s media office issued a statement last week emphasising the broad public response across the region, with popular donations and contributions collected up until departure. The statement said the voyage "aims to shed light on the plight of the Palestinian people under siege and break the wall of international silence with a peaceful humanitarian message".
A Bahraini activist, also speaking anonymously, said the initiative "is not merely a maritime move, but a moral and humanitarian message expressing the Gulf and Arab peoples’ rejection of injustice and support for the oppressed".
The idea of a Gulf vessel followed the interception of the Madleen by Israeli forces on 9 June, around 185 kilometres off Gaza’s coast. That ship carried 12 activists from France, Germany, Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Spain, and the Netherlands. Other campaigners attempted to reach Rafah by land without success, prompting the creation of a broader independent coalition of activists committed to justice, human rights, and nonviolence.
Organisers say the final Gulf participation list is still being arranged, but at least two activists from each state will join, including journalists, rights defenders, and a doctor, alongside the ship’s crew. Confirmed participation has come from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar, while activists from the UAE and Saudi Arabia are not expected.
All Gulf states have condemned Israel’s war on Gaza and sent food and medical aid, but the Israeli embassies in the UAE and Bahrain remain open. Last week, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani received the credentials of Israel’s new ambassador to Manama, Shmuel Revel.
Both Bahrain and the UAE normalised ties with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords, brokered by the administration of former US president Donald Trump.