On August 31st, the Global Sumud Flotilla, a global fleet of over 50 ships carrying humanitarian aid to starved people in Gaza, departed from Spain.
While the majority of the people on the ships are everyday individuals like sailors, nurses, and journalists, having celebrities like Liam Cunningham and activists like Greta Thunberg has helped the movement gain more international recognition. Thousands gathered to send the fleet off in Spain. These ships will be joined by more from ports in Italy and Tunisia as they collectively continue their journey to Gaza. It is expected that 70 ships will take part, and that they are expected to arrive in Gaza by mid-September.
Thousands of people have been wounded and over a thousand have been killed after being shot by Israeli armed forces while trying to get aid from a relief centre operated by a US and Israel-based organisation. Meanwhile, the people of Gaza are suffering a famine – a famine that was officially confirmed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) last month. This makes what the Global Sumud Flotilla is attempting not only a grand call-to-action for the world to wake up, but also a necessity to ensure that life-saving food, medicine and other supplies reach those who need them.
It is a cause with broad, unyielding support. Other groups, such as the Global Alliance for Palestine, are calling for a “Global Day of Action for Gaza” in September. In June, the Co-op said they were going to stop stocking products that come from Israel in response to the human rights abuses that are happening there. Most recently, Lush closed down all their branches for one day in the United Kingdom in protest of the ongoing starvation. Other solidarity movements include marches across the United Kingdom as well as cities in Europe including Paris and Brussels.
This has not been the first attempt to break the siege Israel has imposed on Gaza. This movement was formed in 2006, and has since been successful in breaking Israel’s blockade once in 2008. Since 2010, every single ship trying to reach Gaza has been intercepted. Most recently, the Madleen was intercepted by Israeli forces in June 2025. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, who are the main driving force behind the Freedom Flotilla, say they are “a grassroots people-to-people solidarity movement composed of campaigns and initiatives from different parts of the world, working together to end the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.”
This fleet is recognised as one of the largest activist-led movements attempting to break the siege. This time around, people are no longer only relying on social media posts or petitions; they are not just attending protests and rallies. They are voluntarily taking action, risking their lives, their freedom, and their careers in the process, to speak up about what’s right. The fleet poses a direct challenge to the global inaction that has allowed the blockade to continue for so long and the genocide to take place and worsen. While governments are busy preparing statements, avoiding responsibility and refusing to help, people have taken it upon themselves to do something. Through doing this, the activists and people on these boats are proving to the world that the responsibility to act does not belong only to powerful nations and international institutions. It belongs to all of us.
What the Flotilla represents is not just directly related to Palestine. While the main aim is to deliver aid, the Flotilla carries a powerful political message against the oppression and struggles enforced on people wherever they may be. This includes Sudan, which is currently suffering a multifaceted crisis brought on by war, and has since been relying on mutual aid and local initiatives for support. This also includes Congo, which has been suffering from armed violence and an increase in its humanitarian crisis for years and relies on support from international organisations. These crises may not make the news with the same regularity as Gaza, but they are also in need. The Flotilla is for Gaza, but it also tells us that, wherever there are people oppressed, starved, maimed, killed, orphaned, or widowed, there are those willing to challenge the world to help them.
As the Global Sumud Flotilla is still at sea, Israeli drones fly overhead in an attempt to intimidate those on board while gathering information. It won’t scare the thousands on board these ships, who are following legal protocols in their mission and are also documenting their journey for the world to see, nor the ships that will join them later. These Flotillas have been stopped before, and they came back bigger, stronger and more determined. What is being done today is not just a historic moment in modern history. It is a model to be replicated and adapted by those who are determined to help liberate all the oppressed people of the world, and to show that grassroots movements can create a more just future for everyone.
Words by Tala Ladki
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