Break the Blockade — Global Sumud Flotilla!

The Global Sumud Flotilla is a direct action by grassroots movements, sailing together to challenge the blockade of Gaza and help open a people-led maritime humanitarian corridor. It brings together the coalitions Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Global Movement to Gaza, Maghreb Sumud Flotilla and Sumud Nusantara. Organizers report delegations from 45 countries, and the mission is described as the largest civilian sea effort so far. Sailing is the chosen method because crews can travel in international waters under maritime law, move in daylight to remain visible, and document their journey when land routes are closed or tightly controlled.

The first convoy departed Barcelona on 31 August 2025 after a weather delay. Additional boats are joining from Genoa and at staging points in Tunis (Tunisia) and Catania (Italy), with a Greek vessel preparing to depart from Syros. Organizers and international media say more than 50 vessels are expected to participate. Some vessels that departed from Spain have already reached Tunisia, where additional boats and volunteers are getting there. On 9 September, one of the boats was struck by a drone at Sidi Bou Said port in Tunisia, causing damage on the main deck of the vessel. Organizers described it as a drone attack. On 10 September, a second vessel was also hit by a suspected drone in Tunisian waters near Sidi Bou Said port. You can follow the fleet live on the flotilla’s tracker: https://globalsumudflotilla.org/tracker/.

This mission builds on years of civil flotilla attempts, including the 2010 Mavi Marmara raid in which activists were killed by the Israeli Occupation Forces, and multiple missions in the years after that were intercepted or prevented from sailing. The current effort is widely reported as the largest to date, with dozens of small and mid-size boats, converging from European and North African ports. 

From the ports to the universities, power is building, people are ready to act and support the mission. In Genoa, dockworkers from the USB (Unione Sindacale di Base) union and the CALP (Collettivo Autonomo Lavoratori Portuali) collective issued a public pledge: if contact with the flotilla is lost, even for 20 minutes, they will block Israel-bound cargo, effectively “shutting down all of Europe”. The union has called an assembly on 11 September at the Port Authority Club to organize further action. Τhe Adl Cobas union threatened to take similar action in Venice – “We declare from the outset that, if the Flotilla is stopped, we will mobilize to blockade the port of Venice”. Students from C.A.U. (Collettivo Autorganizzato Universitario – Napoli) have also stated that if Israel blocks the Global Sumud Flotilla from reaching Gaza, they will block the universities, echoing the broader wave of campus and labor solidarity tied to this mission.

Let’s help keep this journey visible. Organize. Stand with the Global Sumud Flotilla. Free Palestine.