Anti-Israel Activists Prepare New Flotilla to Break Israel’s Gaza Blockade

Organizers of a pro-Palestinian flotilla said Thursday they will make a renewed attempt next month to reach the Gaza Strip with more than 100 boats, once again challenging Israel’s blockade of the territory.

During an event at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in South Africa, the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) announced that it will embark on a new “mission” to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza in late March, with speakers urging the international community to prevent Israeli forces from intercepting the operation.

The anti-Israel flotilla represents the latest attempt by activists to defy Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, even as Israel has reopened the Rafah crossing to allow Palestinians to travel to Egypt for medical care.

Israel launched the blockade to prevent Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that ruled Gaza before the war and currently controls just over 40 percent of its territory, from getting weapons and other supplies to attack the Jewish state.

Before the war, the Rafah border crossing with Egypt served as the only direct exit for most Gazans and a crucial entry point for humanitarian aid. The crossing has been largely closed since May 2024 and remains under Israeli military control on the Gazan side.

COGAT, the Israeli military unit responsible for humanitarian coordination, said the crossing will reopen in both directions for Gaza residents on foot only, with operations coordinated alongside Egypt and the European Union.

The GSF described its latest initiative as a “coordinated, nonviolent effort to challenge the illegal Israeli siege on Gaza, confront global complicity, and stand alongside Palestinians.”

According to organizers, more than 1,000 activists — including medical doctors, war crimes investigators, and engineers — will take part in the flotilla. A land convoy is also expected to bring thousands more from countries such as Tunisia and Egypt, while the boats depart from Spain, Tunisia, and Italy toward the enclave.

“This time, we expect hundreds of thousands to sign up and to mobilize entry through Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and every other feasible border to reach occupied Palestine and Gaza,” Mandla Mandela, grandson of the late South African president and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela, said in a statement.

“We want to mobilize the entire global community to join forces with us,” he continued. 

The anti-Israel campaigners have also organized previous flotillas carrying symbolic humanitarian aid, including a similar mission last year that Israeli officials repeatedly denounced as a publicity stunt.

About 50 vessels carrying 500 activists took part in last year’s mission, but all were intercepted by Israeli forces and deported, including Mandela, climate activist Greta Thunberg, and European Parliament member Rima Hassan.