New Maritime Fleet Set to Deliver Humanitarian Aid to Gaza

A coalition of activists in partnership with several civil society organizations has announced the launch of a new maritime fleet destined for the shores of Gaza. This initiative aims to break the blockade on the region and deliver essential humanitarian assistance.

According to a report from ‘Al-Arabi Al-Jadid’ the fleet is scheduled to depart on April 12 from multiple ports in Spain Italy and Tunisia. It is anticipated that over 200 ships will participate in this maritime campaign.

The initiative is organized with the support of the Freedom and Solidarity Association ‘Mavi Marmara’ and the İHH Foundation (Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief) from Turkey. Bulent Yildirim the president of İHH stated in an interview with Al-Arabi Al-Jadid that the participating ships will be acquired through public donations. He emphasized that increasing the number of vessels aims to complicate any attempts by the Israeli regime to prevent the fleet from reaching Gaza’s shores.

Yildirim also noted that thousands of individuals from 150 countries will be part of this fleet. The mission extends beyond delivering humanitarian aid; it includes sending medical personnel educators infrastructure reconstruction teams environmental specialists legal advocates and researchers on war crimes.

This announcement comes in the wake of an incident in October of the previous year when the Israeli naval forces seized ships associated with the Freedom Coalition that were attempting to breach the blockade of Gaza. Approximately 150 participants from that fleet were detained and taken to Ashdod port where they were interrogated and subsequently expelled from the occupied territories.