Greta Thunberg has set sail for Gaza as part of the largest flotilla of boats carrying aid for the Strip.
The 22-year-old, who was wearing a “we are all Palestine Action” T-shirt, was cheered on by thousands of supporters waving Palestinian flags as she and other activists set off from Barcelona’s port on Sunday morning.
“This is a mission to challenge the extremely violent, business-as-usual international system that is failing to uphold international law,” Thunberg told the crowd before the departure of the flotilla of dozens of boats, set to be joined by more aid ships from Greece, Italy and Tunisia.
Thunberg already tried to reach Gaza on board a British-flagged yacht in June, but she and other activists were detained by Israeli forces and deported.
Thunberg, who is among hundreds of people from 44 countries on the flotilla, hopes their mission will bring symbolic aid and help open up a humanitarian corridor to deliver more aid.
She said on Saturday that the activists’ goal is to send “hope and solidarity to the people of Gaza, showing a clear signal that the world has not forgotten about you”.
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Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas took control of the coastal enclave in 2007 and has blocked numerous attempts to reach Gaza since, including a vessel in 2010 by its special forces, in which at least nine Turkish activists were killed.
Israel argues the blockade is necessary to stop weapons from being smuggled to Hamas, and called Thunberg’s previous attempt to reach Gaza a propaganda stunt in support of Hamas.
On Saturday, Sky News’ Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins asked Thunberg whether she was worried about the dangers of the trip, but the activist said she was instead worried about the “silence of the world” in light of what is happening in Gaza.
“I’m terrified to see that we seem to have lost all the humanity that we have, and there seems to be no compassion left in the world amongst the vast majority of people who are able to sit on the couch and watch the genocide unfold that I am terrified for,” Thunberg added.
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Israel has repeatedly denied claims of genocide. In a statement to Sky News, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on Saturday: “The IDF enforces the security naval blockade on the Gaza Strip and is prepared for a wide range of scenarios, which it will act upon in accordance with the directives of the political echelon.”
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The naval blockade has remained in place through conflicts, including the current war, which began when Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed more than 63,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, while part of the Strip is suffering from famine, according to a global hunger monitor – something Israel denies.
