Israel Fails to Halt the Sumud Flotilla: Over 20 Vessels Continue Their Journey to Gaza

Original article: Israel no logra frenar a la Flotilla Sumud: más de 20 embarcaciones siguen rumbo a Gaza

In spite of an aggressive interception operation carried out by Israel, the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) persists in its humanitarian mission, with 20 vessels en route to Gaza, defying the illegal blockade imposed by the Zionist regime against the Palestinian enclave.

“No weapons, no violence, and surrounded, a fleet of small sailboats, wooden vessels, and modest motorboats navigate through an overwhelming array of gray Israeli warships, heavily armed corvettes, and high-speed military boats,” stated the GSF in a public declaration.

The flotilla resumed its course from the Turkish port of Marmaris with 54 boats and nearly 500 participants, aiming to deliver food, medical supplies, and essential aid to the Palestinian population of Gaza, which is under the Israeli blockade.

However, on Monday, they reported that their boats had once again fallen victim to an interception by Israeli naval warships in international waters, approximately 250 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza.

Specifically, the boarding of the military boats occurred in broad daylight, about 80 nautical miles west of Cyprus, within the search and rescue (SAR) zone of the Mediterranean island.

During this new aggression, four Chilean citizens were kidnapped by Israeli forces. According to the Chilean-Palestinian Parliamentary Committee, this includes Víctor Chanfreau, Carolina Eltit, Claudio Caiozzi, and Ignacio Ladrón de Guevara. The latter was traveling with a Spanish passport as part of the Spanish delegation, “without prejudice to his Chilean nationality.”

So far, there is no official information regarding their whereabouts or where they have been taken, prompting the committee to directly call upon the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and demand “to urgently activate all diplomatic efforts with the State of Israel and the relevant international bodies.”

Flotilla: «Israel’s Strategy Has Failed»

The GSF stated that each attempt by Israel to intimidate the humanitarian mission into submission “has only strengthened the resolve of those on board and their commitment to Palestinian liberation.”

They noted that for every ship boarded, sabotaged, or towed, others have managed to break through the military blockade due to their numbers, a strategic formation, and a “steadfast commitment to establish and maintain a humanitarian corridor and assert Palestinian sovereignty.”

Moreover, they emphasized that the fact that more than 20 vessels continue their course to Gaza is a historic response to an “illegal siege that has relied on absolute military impunity for decades while abusing, occupying, committing genocide, and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people.”

The deployment of a vast naval force against a few small boats reveals, according to the flotilla, a “strategic desperation” and a deep fear from Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime towards independent civil society and international law.

“We Sail with the Legacy of a People Who Have Resisted for Eight Decades”

The humanitarian corridor these ships aim to open not only seeks to break the blockade but also to bring visibility to a cause that, despite media silence, has managed to reignite global attention.

According to the GSF, every naval commander and every unit involved in the interception is being meticulously documented. This documentation is being channeled directly to legal teams pursuing criminal proceedings in at least twenty different jurisdictions. The message is clear: Israel’s impunity, the flotilla asserts, “has an expiration date.”

The humanitarian mission has triggered a wave of international solidarity. Within hours of the Israeli interception beginning, more than 61,000 people have sent letters to their governments demanding urgent action. Dozens of mobilizations have erupted in nearly every continent, while the flotilla forces Gaza back into the global news cycle.

“Challenging complicity, continuously and strategically, by land and sea, is how this movement wins and how we support and endorse the Palestinian people,” they stated.

“We sail with the legacy of a people who have resisted for eight decades, rooted in steadfastness, in the Global Sumud Flotilla. We will not stop until the siege is broken and until Palestine is free,” they concluded in their statement.