9 ships of Thousand Madleens Flotilla continue sailing toward Gaza in bid to break Israeli blockade

The international organization Global Sumud Flotilla said Friday that nine new ships have now reached the northern coast of Marsa Matruh, Egypt, and are continuing their journey toward the Gaza Strip to challenge Israel’s blockade.

In a statement on the US social media company X, the flotilla said: “The cumulative global movement must continue… every port, every street, every square.”

“We will not stop,” it added, noting that “nine ships of the ‘Thousand Madleens Flotilla’ have now arrived north of Marsa Matrouh, on their way to Gaza.”

On Thursday, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said that 11 more ships are sailing toward the Gaza Strip to break a years-long Israeli blockade.

According to the coalition, about 100 people are aboard the boats, off the coast of Crete.

FFC, established in 2008, launched dozens of missions aimed at delivering aid and drawing global attention to the humanitarian crisis in the Israel-besieged Gaza Strip.

The new convoy came two days after Israeli naval forces attacked and seized more than 40 boats sailing to Gaza to challenge the Israeli blockade and detained more than 450 activists on board.

Israel, as the occupying power, has previously attacked Gaza-bound ships, seized their cargo, and deported activists on board.

Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million, for nearly 18 years, and further tightened the siege in March when it closed border crossings and blocked food and medicine deliveries, pushing the enclave into famine.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardment has killed more than 66,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The UN and rights groups have repeatedly warned that the enclave is being rendered uninhabitable, with starvation and disease spreading rapidly.