Aid Flotilla from 44 Countries Sails to Gaza Seeking Blockade Passage

Greta Thunberg has joined the largest-ever flotilla of around 70 boats departing from Barcelona to the Gaza Strip in an effort to break Israel's 18-year naval blockade and deliver humanitarian aid including food, water, and medicine. The convoy, involving representatives from 44 countries and prominent figures like actor Liam Cunningham and actress Susan Sarandon, aims to raise global awareness of the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where over 63,000 have died in the ongoing conflict and many face famine. This mission follows Thunberg's previous attempt in June, when Israeli forces intercepted her vessel and deported the activists, with Israel maintaining its blockade is necessary to prevent arms smuggling to Hamas and labeling such efforts as propaganda. Supporters gathered at Barcelona's port waving Palestinian flags and chanting for freedom, emphasizing the activists' call for a humanitarian sea corridor amidst escalated Israeli military offensives limiting supplies to Gaza. Thunberg has criticized the international community's lack of compassion and stressed the mission's symbolic importance to show solidarity with the people of Gaza. The flotilla is expected to join additional ships from Italy, Greece, and Tunisia before reaching Gaza, hoping to challenge the international system's failure to uphold international law and alleviate the dire conditions in the Palestinian enclave.