This afternoon, the Global Sumud Flotilla, organised by several alliances and groups including the
Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and Thousand Madleens to Gaza, commenced its journey from the
port of Barcelona, setting a course toward Italy as it begins the first leg of its vital mission. On behalf
of the Global Alliance for Palestine, we watch this departure with a mixture of profound hope and a
sobering recognition of the stakes. The brave men and women aboard this fleet are not merely
delivering humanitarian aid (food, medicine, and school bags); they are carrying the weight of a
global conscience that refuses to let the ongoing genocide in Gaza be relegated to a footnote of
history.

Interim Executive Committee Secretary General, Dr. Anas Altikriti, emphasised the moral gravity of
the mission:

“As these vessels depart, they carry not only essential aid but the unwavering resolve of a global
community that refuses to remain silent. This flotilla is a testament to human solidarity in the face of
systemic failure, challenging a blockade that has for too long defied both international law and basic
human decency.”

As the international gaze is pulled toward shifting geopolitical tensions in Lebanon and Iran, the
genocide in Gaza has only sharpened. The human reality is devastating, with over 72,000 lives lost, a
landscape of ruins where hospitals once stood, and a population of over two million people enduring
a systematic genocide and siege that weaponises hunger and thirst. This flotilla sails because
international diplomacy has failed to stop the slaughter, and because ‘complicity’ is the only word left
to describe the silence of the world’s most powerful actors.

We wish these crews a safe and unhindered passage, yet we are under no illusions about the risks
they face. The memory of the ‘Conscience’, which was organised by the FFC, remains etched in our
minds – a vessel that, just a year ago, saw its hull breached and fire break out in the middle of the
Mediterranean after being struck by Israeli drones in international waters. That incident, occurring in
the quiet hours off the coast of Malta, was a grim reminder that even in the open sea, the reach of
those who enforce the blockade is violent and lawless. These volunteers sail with the full knowledge
that their predecessors were met not with maritime protocol, but with drones and tactical strikes
designed to sink their mission before it could even reach the horizon.

Despite a history of aggression and the unlawful interventions that have shadowed every mission
since 2010 – and the pioneering efforts of the FFC that organised the challenges to the blockade in
the years prior – the spirit of ‘Sumud’ or steadfast resilience, has only grown. This is a mission of
peace, but it is also an act of resistance against an illegal blockade that has turned Gaza into the
world’s largest open-air prison for nearly two decades.

As the Global Sumud Flotilla disappears into the horizon, the Global Alliance for Palestine issues a
definitive mandate to the international community: you are now the primary guarantors of their
safety. The protection of these civilian vessels is a non-negotiable obligation under international
maritime law and a critical test of global moral integrity. We demand that sovereign states move
beyond empty rhetoric and act as a legal shield for these volunteers, who have stepped into the void
left by the paralysis of conventional diplomacy.

Let this mission serve as the catalyst to dismantle the illegal siege and as a resolute indictment of the
complicity that has left the Palestinian people to face genocide alone. To the crews, we wish you fair
winds and a safe arrival to the shores of Gaza.

Media Officer Contact Information
Media Officer: Raghad Osama
Email: media@palestine-alliance.org
Website: https://palestine-alliance.org/