. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article by Jessica Corbett in Common Dreams (reprinted under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

As Israeli forces on Friday captured the last remaining vessel from the Global Sumud Flotilla that aimed to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip and deliver humanitarian aid, another group of boats was headed for the Palestinian territory.

The 11 vessels, most of which started sailing last week, are “carrying over 150 healthcare workers, journalists, and activists,” according to organizers, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and Thousand Madleens to Gaza.

“As journalists and medical professionals, we carry the responsibility to speak truth and preserve life,” said Dr. Ricardo Corradini, a general surgeon from Italy, in a statement. “This mission is an appeal to our colleagues—and to the institutions that represent us globally—to break their silence, uphold their ethics, and stand on the right side of history.”

FFC highlighted earlier this week that the ship “Conscience, bombed by Israel off the coast of Malta in May 2025, has returned to serve as a vehicle for medics and media determined to reach their colleagues in besieged Gaza.”

Huwaida Arraf, an FFC steering committee member aboard Conscience, said that it “is the latest and largest boat in this historic flotilla—and its name represents not only steadfast resistance to Israel’s illegal blockade, but a call to awaken the conscience of the world.”

Since Israeli forces began intercepting Global Sumud Flotilla vessels late Wednesday, a fresh wave of global protests has occurred. People around the world have repeatedly taken to the streets over the past two years, as Israel has responded to the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack by devastating infrastructure across Gaza, including healthcare facilities, wounding at least 169,165 Palestinians, and slaughtering at least 66,288.

Experts warn the true death toll in Gaza is likely much higher. Among the dead are many doctors and nurses—one count, from Healthcare Workers Watch, said at least 1,200 as of February. Israel’s killing of Gaza’s healthcare professionals continued this week with the death of Omar Hayek from Doctors Without Borders, or Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

The Israeli attack that killed Hayek and wounded four others “took place on a street where our teams were waiting to take a bus to the MSF field hospital in Deir al-Balah. All staff were wearing MSF vests, clearly identifying them as medical humanitarian workers,” the group said Thursday. “We express deep sorrow and outrage over the killing, which occurs less than two weeks after another MSF colleague, Hussein Alnajjar, was killed by the Israeli forces, in Deir al-Balah.”

Also among the dead are over 200 journalists, with recent tallies ranging from 223 to 270. The Israeli government has prevented international reporters from entering Gaza—and has been widely accused of intentionally killing Palestinian journalists who have reported on the genocide while trying to survive it.

Global press freedom groups have frequently spoken out against Irsael’s treatment of journalists, including this week, when Israeli forces took members of the media into custody while blocking the Global Sumud Flotilla from reaching Gaza.

“Arresting journalists and preventing them from doing their work is a serious violation of the right to inform and be informed,” said Martin Roux, head of the Crisis Desk at Reporters Without Borders, or Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), in a Thursday statement.

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“RSF condemns the illegal arrest of the news professionals who were on board these ships to cover a humanitarian operation of unprecedented scale,” Roux continued. “The Israeli army, which has killed over 210 Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip, is continuing its media blockade of the Gaza Strip with these illegal arrests at sea, with the obvious goal of covering up the crimes it is committing against the Palestinian population. RSF urges Israel to respect the status of journalists, protect them, and guarantee their safety in accordance with international law.”

Early Friday, the flotilla announced on Instagram that “Marinette, the last remaining boat of the Global Sumud Flotilla, was intercepted at 10:29 am local time, approximately 42.5 nautical miles from Gaza.”

According to the flotilla, whose more than 450 members included politicians, actors, and activists from dozens of countries:

“Over 38 hours, Israeli occupation naval forces illegally intercepted all 42 of our vessels—each carrying humanitarian aid, volunteers, and the determination to break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza.

“We will not stop until the genocide ends. We will not stop until Palestine is free.”

Until the interception, the flotilla faced repeated attacks widely believed to be from Israel, whose Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday continued to smear the peaceful humanitarian mission as the “Hamas-Sumud provocation” and a “sham.”

“Already four Italian citizens have been deported. The rest are in the process of being deported. Israel is keen to end this procedure as quickly as possible,” the ministry said on social media. “All are safe and in good health.”

In a video circulating online, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir can be seen repeatedly calling Global Sumud Flotilla activists “terrorists” as they were waiting for their transfer to an Israeli prison

In a Friday statement about the Global Sumud Flotilla, Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights group in the United States, said that “the detention of these humanitarian volunteers, including American citizens, is deeply troubling and completely unacceptable.”

“These are civilians engaged in delivering essential aid to people in desperate need in Gaza,” he continued. “Denying them legal counsel, holding them incommunicado, and putting them at risk for simply performing humanitarian work is a flagrant violation of human rights and the principles the United States stands for. We urge the US government to act immediately to secure their safe release and make clear that targeting Americans performing humanitarian missions will not be tolerated.”

Under President Donald Trump and his Democratic predecessor, the United States has provided Israel with diplomatic support on the global stage and billions of dollars in military aid. Joined at the White House on Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court—Trump unveiled a proposed peace plan for Gaza.

In a long post on his Truth Social platform Friday morning, Trump railed against Hamas and gave the group that has governed Gaza for the past two decades until Sunday at 6:00 pm Eastern Time to agree to his proposal. Trump wrote, “If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas.”

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. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article from the Peoples Dispatch

In July 2025, a new international maritime initiative was launched: the Global Sumud Flotilla. It was formed by four major coalitions: the Global Campaign to Return to Palestine, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the Maghreb Sumud Convoy, and the Southeast Asian Nusantara Sumud Initiative. The Global Sumud Flotilla is set to depart on August 31, 2025. Its goal is clear: to break Israel’s illegal blockade on Gaza, to deliver urgent humanitarian aid, and to expose the genocidal war waged on Palestinians. 

Photo from Al Jazeera

The flotilla is composed of dozens of small civilian vessels carrying activists, parliamentarians, doctors, and trade unionists, alongside humanitarian cargo. More than 39 national delegations have pledged participation, making this the largest people-led maritime effort in solidarity with Gaza since the 2010 “Mavi Marmara”.

Behind every flotilla passenger lies a story of conviction. Greek trade unionists brought banners pledging workers’ solidarity with Palestine. Doctors from Spain and Italy carried vital medicines banned from entering Gaza. Parliamentarians from South Africa and Norway insisted that breaking the siege is a moral and political duty.

This is not the first flotilla of its kind this year. The “Handala” and “Madleen”, two of the Freedom Flotilla’s flagship vessels, also set sail in an attempt to break the blockade of Gaza. However, they were attacked by drones and stormed by Israeli forces. Passengers were beaten, kidnapped, and deported. Phones were confiscated, activists were interrogated, and many went on hunger strike to protest their detention. The attack was not just on the Freedom Flotilla; it was an attack on the principle of global solidarity itself.

The Global Sumud Flotilla insists that its mission is entirely lawful under international maritime law. Civilian vessels carrying humanitarian aid in international waters are protected under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Israel’s interception of the “Handala” and “Madleen” constitutes nothing less than piracy and a war crime.

The flotilla’s organizers remind the world that Israel has maintained a land, air, and sea blockade on Gaza since 2007. As they prepared for upcoming missions, flotilla spokespeople declared:

“Our boats carry more than aid. They carry a message: the siege must end. The greater danger lies not in confronting Israel at sea, but in allowing genocide to continue with impunity.”

Criminalizing solidarity, violating international law

In recent months, Israel has escalated its campaign to silence international solidarity with Palestine by targeting civilian flotillas attempting to break the Gaza blockade. These ships, carrying activists, aid, and a message of defiance against siege, have become symbols of global resistance. Instead of engaging through diplomacy or respecting humanitarian principles, Israel has resorted to force on the high seas, treating peaceful civilian missions as military threats.

The assaults on the “Handala” and “Madleen” are more than acts of piracy, they are grave breaches of international law. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) guarantees freedom of navigation in international waters. By seizing vessels outside its territorial jurisdiction, Israel has acted as a rogue state.

International legal experts have consistently affirmed that the blockade of Gaza since 2007 constitutes collective punishment, violating the Fourth Geneva Convention. The International Criminal Court has received multiple submissions documenting Israel’s starvation siege, now exacerbated by open genocide. Yet governments that loudly invoke “rules-based order” remain silent when Palestinians, and their supporters, are the victims.

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Instead of protecting citizens, western governments have facilitated Israel’s repression. Passengers aboard the flotillas were stripped of their phones, interrogated, and some were denied re-entry into the Schengen zone. Western states’ silence amounts to complicity.

Some detainees launched hunger strikes in Israeli prisons to protest their abduction. Others returned home to smear campaigns. Western right-wing media accused activists of “provocation” or of “endangering security”. Once-beloved Swedish activist Greta Thunberg who joined the “Madleen” flotilla, received attacks from mainstream media, on social media, and from influential political figures. Such tactics aim to delegitimize solidarity and sow fear among those who dare to act.

But these campaigns have failed to extinguish the moral clarity of the movement. From dockworkers in Barcelona refusing to load arms to Israel, to students occupying universities in the US and Britain, the flotilla has become a symbol: solidarity cannot be blockaded.

The human face of global resistance

The Global Sumud Flotilla represents a convergence of struggles across continents:

The Global Campaign to Return to Palestine mobilized thousands of activists worldwide.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, with roots going back to 2010, brings long experience of organizing maritime resistance. 

The Maghreb Sumud Convoy, launched in June 2025, gathered over 1,000 participants from across North Africa under the banner of “coordinated action for Palestine”.

The Nusantara Sumud Initiative, launched from Malaysia and eight other Southeast Asian countries, embodies South–South solidarity inspired by Palestinian steadfastness.

Together, these four networks transformed the flotilla from a handful of ships into a people-powered humanitarian corridor. The first official mission is scheduled for August 31, 2025, from Spain, followed by a second launch from Tunisia on September 4, with more than 50 ships expected to participate.

At a press conference in Tunis, organizers emphasized that the flotilla is not merely logistical, it is symbolic:

“This will not only be a fleet. It will be a reminder that the world is watching, that Gaza is not alone, and that peoples will not remain silent.”

The Freedom Flotilla is part of a long lineage of resistance at sea. The 2010 assault on the “Mavi Marmara”, in which Israeli forces killed ten activists, shocked the world. But instead of stopping solidarity, it multiplied it.

The Global Sumud Flotilla marks a new stage. By linking Mediterranean ports, North African caravans, and Southeast Asian convoys, it builds a transnational infrastructure of resistance. Its Arabic name Sumud, steadfastness, reflects both Palestinian resilience and the determination of people across the world to act where governments have failed.

Breaking the siege, building the future

The choice is now clear. Israel will continue to attack peaceful ships in international waters, abduct activists, and suppress humanitarian efforts, because the siege is a cornerstone of its genocidal project. Western governments will continue to look away.

But ordinary people, from Greek dockworkers refusing to load weapons for Israel, to Tunisian unions welcoming flotilla missions, to students and parliamentarians raising their voices, are building a counter-power.

The Global Sumud Flotilla is both a lifeline and a warning: Gaza will not be starved into silence, and solidarity will not be blockaded.

As the flotilla prepares to set sail with more than 50 ships, its message resounds across seas and continents: The siege must fall. Gaza must live. Palestine must be free.

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FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION .

An article published June 12 in Sharing.org Reprinted according to  Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.0

Meeting in Cairo, Egypt, over 30 countries are coming together for a historic international march  in solidarity with Gaza.

In a first-of-its-kind step, a coalition of unions, solidarity movements, and international human rights organizations from over 32 countries has announced the launch of the “Global March to Gaza” — a plan to enter the Gaza Strip on foot in response to the catastrophic humanitarian conditions endured by its population under an Israeli siege that has lasted nearly 20 months.

The march aims to directly stop the genocide against the Palestinian people, facilitate the immediate entry of humanitarian aid, and demand an end to the siege on Gaza.

Participants are from Western countries, not just from Arab or Muslim communities, with more than 10,000 people having expressed interest in joining. Task forces have been formed geographically to ensure effective logistics and multilingual media communication.

The march follows an Israeli plan to delegate aid entry to a private company, which the UN has rejected, arguing it would worsen displacement, restrict aid access, and tie humanitarian aid to political and military agendas.

Key objectives of the march

Around 3,000 aid trucks loaded with food, medicine, and fuel have been waiting for months at Rafah. The march’s primary goal is to break the inhumane blockade imposed since 7 October 2023.

According to the organizers, other goals include:

1. Stop the genocide

Collective, practical action to halt ongoing Israeli crimes, especially the use of starvation as a weapon and the systematic killing of children.

2. Immediate humanitarian aid access

Demand for direct and urgent entry of food, medical supplies, and essentials through the Rafah Crossing, where thousands of trucks have been stuck at the border.

3. End the siege

Call for the unconditional opening of a stable humanitarian corridor and removal of restrictions preventing access to food, clean water, fuel, and medicine.

4. Mobilize international opinion

Unite civil societies across countries to expose war crimes, pressure governments, and engage global media in supporting justice and Palestinian human rights.

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Video copied from twitter account of March to Gaza

5. Accountability for war crimes

Call for legal and ethical accountability for all parties contributing to or complicit in violations against the Palestinian people.

Solidarity as a principle

German lawyer Melanie Schweizer explained that this peaceful initiative also sends symbolic messages of international solidarity, aiming to:

° Represent civil societies of the participating countries.

° Involve unions, rights organizations, medical and humanitarian sectors, and individuals from all backgrounds to amplify the voice of global civil society.

° Emphasize the nonviolent and voluntary nature of the march — no government backing, and participants self-fund their journey.

March route and logistics

Because participants come from various countries, the plan is to converge in Cairo starting 12 June, then travel to Arish and proceed on foot to Gaza via Rafah Crossing.

Eduard Camacho, from the Catalan union IAC, confirmed that each person will cover their own expenses with minimal logistical support. The route involves:

1. Coordinating local start points and liaising with ground activities.

2. Dividing participants into national groups, each organizing in its own language and culture.

3. Reaching Cairo, traveling to Arish, and marching by foot to Rafah.

4. Engaging embassies and Egyptian authorities, formally requesting cooperation.

5. Staging a sit-in at Rafah Crossing to demand its opening and aid delivery.

More information: https://marchtogaza.net

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. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article by Ann Wright in Peace and Planet News

The Gaza Flotilla sailboat Madleen set off from Catania, Sicily, Italy on June 1, 2025 for a 7-day voyage to Gaza  to break the 40-year illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and now to stop the 600 day genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. The ship and her 12-person crew and participants departed at 4 pm Central European Summer Time following four very successful community events in Catania, each event having several hundred members of the local community attending.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg and Thiago Avila from the Freedom Flotilla Steering Committee meet with journalists in Catania, Italy.

The Madleen is named after Gaza’s first and only fisherwoman in 2014. The ship is a symbol of the unyielding spirit of Palestinian resilience and the growing global resistance to Israel’s use of collective punishment and deliberate starvation policies.

Her launch comes just one month after Israeli drones bombed Conscience, another Freedom Flotilla aid ship, underscoring both the urgency and the danger of this mission to break the siege on Gaza.

The Conscience had been in international waters off the European country of Malta as the flotilla coalition was ready to board around 35 participants onto the ship. The bombing occurred hours following the flight of an Israeli military C-130 Hercules aircraft around Malta.

In the afternoon of May 1, only hours before the Israeli military bombed the Conscience, the small Pacific island of Palau, which is dependent on U.S. funding through the Compact of Free Association, cancelled  the flag and certification of the Conscience, no doubt following pressure from the U.S. government.

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Madleen is carrying urgently needed supplies for the people of Gaza, including baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, women’s sanitary products, water desalination kits, medical supplies, crutches, and children’s prosthetics.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition  emphasizes that this is a peaceful act of civil resistance. All volunteers and crew aboard Madleen are trained in nonviolence. They are sailing unarmed, united by the shared belief that Palestinians deserve the same rights, freedom, and dignity as all people.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition calls on:

Governments to guarantee safe passage for Madleen and all humanitarian vessels;

Media outlets to report on this mission with accuracy and integrity;

People of conscience everywhere to reject silence and take action for Gaza.

Those onboard the Madleen are:

Mark Van Rennes (crew) The Netherlands

2. Reva Seifert Viard (crew) France

3. Pascal Maurieras (crew) France

4. Sergio Toribio (crew) Spain

5. Thiago Ávila (Freedom Flotilla Steering Committee) (Brazil)

6. Yasemin Acar (Freedom Flotilla Steering Committee) (Germany)

7. Rima Hassan (European Parliamentarian) France

8. Greta Thunberg (climate activist) Sweden

9. Yanis M’Hamdi (journalist) France

10. Suayb Ordu (engineer) Turkey

11. Omar Fayad (Al Jazeera reporter) France

12. Baptiste Andre (Doctor) France

Donate to the Freedom Flotilla here

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