The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) announced on Monday that it planned to carry out a new mission in the Gaza Strip scheduled for spring 2026, which will see the participation of more than a hundred boats and 3,000 participants from dozens of countries. This year, he attempted to reach the Palestinian enclave in a trip that received global media coverage and ended up being intercepted by Israeli authorities. The intention of the coalition of ships was to break the Israeli maritime blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“In response to a direct call from Palestinians in Gaza, the GSF announces a decisive expansion of its next mission in spring 2026,” we read in a press release published on its Telegram channel. The organization stressed that this operation “is more than double the size of its previous mission and the largest coordinated civilian maritime action for Palestine to date. » The previous flotilla included 43 ships, six of which flew the Spanish flag, and more than 500 volunteers from 48 countries.
This mission will include a medical fleet which will transport more than a thousand health professionals on board ships equipped with medicines and equipment. The intention is to strengthen emergency care and “stabilize a devastated health system by the siege and continuous bombings”, in collaboration with the medical teams in Gaza.
The GSF explained that the spring’s objectives revolve around several “explicit and interrelated mandates”: helping to break the siege, “directly confronting the illegal blockade that Israel has maintained on Gaza for decades”; provide life-saving assistance, as it includes “a large-scale humanitarian component” and establish an unarmed protective presence, in order to “deter violence, by documenting violations”.
Likewise, they plan support the reconstructionwith teams dedicated to supporting Palestinians in the first stages of rebuilding civilian facilities. They also aim to help “expose and confront the international complicity that enables the illegal blockade, occupation and Israeli genocidemobilize civil society” and demand accountability from governments and institutions.
Finally, organizers stressed that the flotilla represents “a small fraction of what will ultimately be needed to fully support the reconstruction of Gaza,” but stressed that “its importance lies in the precedent it sets: a replicable, civilian-led model based on international law, humanitarian principles and Palestinian leadership. »
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