The International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza announced it will launch a dedicated vessel for more than 100 international journalists and medics on Wednesday. This marks a focused effort to defy Israel’s blockade, and provide urgent media access and medical relief to Gaza.
While the port of departure remains undisclosed for security reasons, the mission will sail in coordination with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and the Thousand Madleens for Gaza initiative. According to the committee, this voyage is not only an act of solidarity, but an urgent attempt to document and respond to the devastating collapse of Gaza’s health system under siege.
“For nearly two years, Israel has barred foreign journalists from entering Gaza,” the committee declared, accusing Israeli authorities of systematically concealing war crimes and targeting those who document them. Since October 2023, at least 252 Palestinian journalists have been killed, the statement added, alongside a grim record of bombed hospitals, detained or murdered medical staff, and chronic shortages of lifesaving supplies.
The committee called on governments, UN agencies, and human rights institutions to guarantee safe passage for the vessel and exert diplomatic pressure to dismantle Israel’s unlawful siege. “This is a mission for the human conscience,” the statement read, stressing that “the free world must create a momentum the occupation cannot withstand.”
In a separate update, organizers reported that about 45 ships in the Global Sumud Flotilla were now just 570 kilometers from Gaza, roughly a three-day journey by sea. On Saturday night, the convoy departed Greek territorial waters, embarking on its final leg toward the enclave. The fleet had lingered in Greek waters last week following Israeli threats of attack.
On Sunday, a second wave of eight vessels departed from Sicily. This batch of boats carries roughly 70 additional activists from more than 20 countries, including nine parliamentarians from Europe and the United States. They, too, sail under the banner of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and the Thousand Madleens for Gaza initiative.
While activists on board remain resolute, flotilla organizers still expect Israel to act on its escalating threats on the mission. After having received “credible intelligence” that Israel intends to attack the global Sumud mission in the upcoming days, the flotilla's legal team urged “governments and international bodies to intervene immediately and ensure our safe passage”, in a statement posted to their Telegram channel.
Last week, six ships in the flotilla were targeted by drones, reportedly firing stun bombs and projectiles that caused damage but no injuries. The attack spurred Italy and Spain to dispatch naval warships to the area, tasked with escorting the flotilla and offering emergency support for their citizens on board.
Earlier this month, while docked in Tunisia, two Global Sumud Flotilla boats were also struck with incendiary drones. No perpetrator has claimed responsibility, but activists on board have pointed to Israeli officials’ public threats to the flotilla.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs had publicly sharpened its threatening rhetoric in the lead up to the flotilla’s imminent arrival. In a statement posted to X, the ministry threatened that “Israel will take the necessary measures to prevent its entry into the combat zone and to stop any violation of a lawful naval blockade,” if the flotilla organizers refuse Israel’s proposal to “transfer any such aid to the Ashkelon Marina so it can be forwarded promptly to the Gaza Strip in a peaceful and non-violent manner.”
While the Israeli MFA stated it will make “every possible effort to ensure the safety of its passengers,” it has repeatedly referred to the flotilla as the “Hamas flotilla,” even going so far as to accuse its organizers of being active Hamas operatives.
In a press statement released last week, the Global Sumud Flotilla warned “Israel’s rhetoric against the Global Sumud Flotilla sets the stage for further escalation. Painting a peaceful humanitarian mission as a “breach of the law” is a pretext for violence against civilians acting lawfully to deliver aid,” adding that this “is part of a long-standing pattern: Israel’s deliberate obstruction of aid to Gaza.”
On Sept. 1, 2025, the Sumud flotilla set sail from Barcelona with more than 300 activists. Later it moored in Tunisia, where additional ships joined the convoy. Organizers continue to maintain that their mission is to deliver humanitarian aid, challenge Israel’s exclusive control of the enclave’s crossings, and spotlight the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
