International activists are preparing on Sunday to set sail from northeastern Spain to the Gaza Strip in a massive 70-boat flotilla, aiming to break Israel’s devastating naval blockade and deliver much-needed humanitarian aid. Dubbed the “Global Resilience Flotilla,” the initiative is the second of its kind in less than a year. It boasts a significant increase in participation, with about 1,000 volunteers from 70 countries taking part in the effort.
The vessels, departing from the port of Barcelona, are loaded with food, medicine, school bags, and stationery for Palestinian children. Organisers say the mission is being carried out in coordination with Palestinian civil society organisations, maritime security experts, and prominent international NGOs, including Greenpeace and Open Arms—a charity known for its Mediterranean rescue operations. The flotilla has also received increased backing from the Barcelona municipality.
Pablo Castilla, a spokesperson for the flotilla, told reporters in Barcelona that the primary goal is to “condemn international complicity in the genocide committed by Israel in Gaza, demand accountability, and open a humanitarian corridor by sea and land”. Castilla noted a declining international focus on Gaza due to the ongoing United States-Israel war on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon. He warned that Israel is exploiting this geopolitical shift to tighten its siege, restrict aid, expand settlements, and accelerate the occupation of Palestinian territory.
The Gaza Strip, under an Israeli blockade since 2007, has faced an unprecedented humanitarian and health crisis since Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, which began in October 2023 and has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians. The prolonged assault has also devastated infrastructure, including hospitals, and left approximately 1.5 million of the enclave’s 2.4 million residents displaced and homeless, amid severe restrictions on fuel and medical supplies. The flotilla’s departure comes just months after the Israeli military intercepted the first Global Resilience Flotilla in early October 2025.
That mission, which departed Barcelona in September 2025 with 42 boats and 462 activists, was attacked in international waters, with hundreds arrested and later deported. Since 2010, all flotillas attempting to break the Gaza blockade have been intercepted or attacked by Israel in international waters. In 2008, two boats from the Free Gaza Movement successfully reached Gaza, marking the first breach of Israel’s naval blockade.
The movement, founded in 2006 by activists during Israel’s war on Lebanon, went on to launch 31 boats between 2008 and 2016, five of which reached Gaza despite heavy Israeli restrictions. In 2010, Israeli commandos raided the aid ship the Mavi Marmara in international waters. The assault killed 10 activists and injured dozens, leading to global outrage.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
