Preparations are continuing in Tunisia ahead of the departure of the Somoud flotilla toward the besieged and devastated Gaza Strip next Saturday, with several groups of volunteers from across Europe and the Arab world arriving in recent days.
A training workshop on launching the fleet was held on Wednesday morning for the second consecutive day at the headquarters of the Tunisian General Labour Union. The fleet is expected to set sail on Saturday from the port of Sidi Bou Said in the capital Tunis or from a nearby port.
The New Arab’s Arabic sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that a number of participants expressed optimism about the fleet reaching Gaza with the aim of breaking Israel's starvation siege on the territory amid the ongoing war.
Khaled Bou Jomaa, a member of the steering committee of the Somoud flotilla and a former member of the Tunisian League for the Defence of Human Rights, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that "preparations are in full swing" and that there is a training workshop for international activists and for some who did not participate in previous workshops.
He confirmed that a new ship joined the Tunisian fleet on Tuesday evening and that negotiations are currently underway for two additional ships.
Bou Jomaa explained that ships from abroad will also come to Tunisia to participate in the Somoud flotilla, which could raise the total number of ships to about 25. He said the number of participants could reach between 130 and 150, noting that the departure was provisionally postponed from Thursday to Saturday due to weather conditions.
He added that participants from Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Malaysia, Turkey, and the United States had arrived, and that ships will carry supplies of medicine and foodstuffs to Gaza. He also called for material and moral support for the convoy.
Bou Jomaa told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that he had participated in a previous land convoy of the Somoud flotilla, describing it as “an important experience that received wide interaction” despite the convoy being stopped in the Libyan city of Sirte by troops loyal to warlord Khalifa Haftar before it could reach its destination.
Algerian parliamentarian Youssef Ajiza, one of the participants in the flotilla, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that they had arrived in Tunisia to take part in the preparations and the official launch.
He said that the participation of activists from around the world showed that "the Palestinian cause is a humanitarian and global issue".
Ajiza added that "what is happening in Gaza in terms of starvation and genocide has exceeded all imagination, and therefore it was necessary to break the unjust and immoral blockade imposed on the Palestinian people and to stop the genocide".
He said that Israel had "closed all the crossings, leaving only the sea, from where we will attempt to reach Gaza and deliver the aid," despite the risks involved.
He had previously tried to travel to Gaza last May on the ship Al-Dhamir, which was bombed by Israel.
Ajiza said however that this Somoud flotilla "will be a different experience, given the large number of participants and ships".
He said those on board are peaceful, carry no weapons, and pose no threat, and that their goal is to deliver aid and break the blockade.
He added that the sea convoy "will be different from the land convoy, which was a popular solidarity movement with the participation of a large number of people," noting that the sea effort involves ships, border procedures, and logistical constraints, meaning the number of participants will be smaller.
Ajiza expressed optimism about reaching Gaza, describing the effort as "unique and historic in light of the large number of ships coming from different countries".