After a slight delay due to poor weather conditions, the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Barcelona, Spain, on 1 September in hopes of breaking Israel‘s blockade of Gaza. According to organizers, this is “the largest humanitarian mission in history,” bringing together dozens of ships and hundreds of activists from more than 40 countries. The flotilla will be joined by more boats in Tunisia before heading to the Gaza Strip. The journey is expected to take a week.
The operation, coordinated by three separate organisations, recalls the journeys of the Madleen and Handala, two ships that set sail in 2025 for the Gaza coast with the same objective before being boarded by Israeli defense forces.
The siege of the Gaza Strip continues, claiming numerous civilian casualties. On Monday 1 September, more than 270 media outlets from 70 different countries took part in a coordinated action organized by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the global citizen movement Avaaz to denounce the killing of journalists during the conflict. According to RSF, more than 210 reporters have been killed in Gaza since the massacre perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October 2023, making this the deadliest conflict in history for the profession.
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