On the evening of September 8, 2025, a remarkable scene unfolded across the Mediterranean: hundreds of people in dozens of boats set sail from ports in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Tunisia, all united by a single purpose. Their objective? To break Israel’s longstanding naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and deliver urgently needed humanitarian aid to Palestinians trapped in the besieged enclave. This unprecedented civilian initiative, known as the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), has drawn support from activists, lawmakers, and ordinary citizens in 44 countries, making it the largest civilian attempt of its kind to date, according to NPR.
The scale of this mission is extraordinary. In cities like Barcelona and Genoa, tens of thousands of supporters gathered to see off the boats, many waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans denouncing the ongoing conflict. The excitement was palpable on the Tiber River in Rome, where a boat draped in a giant Palestinian flag cruised past lively bars, drawing cheers and chants from people on the bridges above, as reported by NPR’s Ruth Sherlock. The atmosphere was charged with both hope and urgency, as people across Europe sought to draw attention to the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza.
Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist known for her environmental advocacy, emerged as one of the flotilla’s most prominent organizers. She was joined on the flagship vessel, The Family, by German human rights activist Yasemin Acar and Brazilian socio-environmentalist Thiago Ávila. The presence of such high-profile figures underscored the international nature of the mission and its goal: to challenge what organizers described as the “extremely violent, business-as-usual international system that is failing to uphold international law.” Thunberg told the crowd in Barcelona, “This is a mission to challenge the extremely violent, business-as-usual international system that is failing to uphold international law.”
The flotilla’s journey, however, has not been without peril. On September 9, the GSF reported that The Family, flying a Portuguese flag and carrying its steering committee, was attacked by a drone while anchored in Tunisian waters. The incident caused fire damage to the main deck and below-deck storage, but, fortunately, all crew members—including Thunberg, Acar, and Ávila—were unharmed. Footage released by the group shows a flash of light on the deck and a crew member flinching as the attack occurred. The organizers were quick to condemn the act, stating, “Acts of aggression aimed at intimidating and derailing our mission will not deter us.”
Responsibility for the attack remains a point of contention. The Tunisian national guard stated that no drones were detected in the area, while GSF organizers squarely blamed Israel. “There is no other authority that would do such an attack, such a crime, except the Israeli authorities. They have been committing genocide for the past 22 months, and they are willing to attack a peaceful, non-violent flotilla,” a member of the group declared, as reported by multiple agencies. Israeli officials have not publicly commented on the incident, but past flotilla attempts have been met with forceful responses from Israel, which maintains that the blockade is necessary to prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas.
The mission’s humanitarian dimension is hard to overlook. The Italian group responsible for gathering aid for the flotilla was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support, collecting hundreds of tons of food—far exceeding their initial expectations. Genoa alone contributed over 400 tons of aid, compared to the original 30-ton target. In a press conference broadcast from Italy, Bosnian humanitarian worker Boris Vitlacil, preparing to sail with the flotilla from Sicily, emphasized, “The success of the flotilla depends on the support we will receive from around the world.” He cited pledges from Genoa dock workers to block ports if contact with the flotilla is lost, plans by students to stage school blockades, and legal backing from an Irish vessel. Vitlacil also drew a poignant parallel to Bosnia’s own wartime experiences, recalling, “I met people who once tried to save us, and now they are helping Gaza.”
The symbolic power of the flotilla has resonated far beyond the docks. In cities across Italy, people held what they called “ground support” events, marching in solidarity and raising awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. “There’s a common thread in humanity that links us all,” said Gisella Dragoi during a march in Rome, as quoted by NPR. “Faced with the images of starvation and suffering of Palestinians in the Israeli offensive against Hamas in Gaza, people feel desperate and want to help in some way. This is a concrete action to get behind.”
Despite the groundswell of public support, the flotilla’s prospects for actually breaking the blockade remain slim. Previous attempts—such as Thunberg’s June 2025 voyage aboard the Madleen, which was intercepted by Israeli forces and resulted in her deportation—have all failed to reach Gaza. Israel’s government has consistently described such missions as propaganda stunts in support of Hamas. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir reportedly assembled top police officials to consider detaining activists in “terrorist-level conditions.” Meanwhile, Amichai Chikli, Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Affairs, told Sky News that “there was no starvation in Gaza,” claiming that over 50,000 tons of supplies, including food and medicine, entered the territory from May to August 2025. “Gaza is flooded with supplies that came through land and through air. The supply is good,” Chikli asserted.
Nevertheless, many in the international community and among the flotilla’s supporters remain unconvinced. Organizers argue that global leaders have failed to put sufficient pressure on Israel to allow aid to pass freely, and that the blockade continues to exacerbate suffering in Gaza. Four Italian lawmakers have joined the flotilla, lending political weight to what is otherwise a grassroots, civilian-led effort. The mission, while largely symbolic, marks the first time such a large-scale action has received this level of public and governmental backing.
As the boats continue their journey, the world watches closely. The fate of the Global Sumud Flotilla may echo the outcomes of previous attempts, but its unprecedented scale and the passion of its supporters have already made waves—both literal and figurative—across the Mediterranean and beyond. Whether or not the flotilla succeeds in breaking the blockade, it has succeeded in focusing global attention on Gaza and the urgent need for humanitarian relief.