Activists plan new, bigger flotilla to try to bring aid to Gaza
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A flotilla of humanitarian boats departing from Sicily on Sept 27, 2025.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Activists plan a larger flotilla with 100 boats and 1,000 medics in 2026 to break the Gaza blockade, after a failed attempt in 2025.
- Mandla Mandela urged global support for the cause, emphasising "justice and dignity for all", despite Israeli condemnation of the flotilla as a "publicity stunt".
- Activists believe highlighting Gaza's plight is worthwhile, even if the flotilla is blocked, showing Gazans they "will not stop...until we actually break the siege".
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JOHANNESBURG – Activists behind a flotilla intercepted at sea in 2025 by Israel while trying to bring aid to Gaza will try again in 2026, expecting more than twice as many boats carrying up to 1,000 medics, they said on Feb 5.
The Israeli military halted the roughly 40 boats in the Global Sumud Flotilla in October 2025 as they attempted to reach blockaded Gaza, arresting Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and more than 450 other participants.
Organisers, who gathered on Feb 4 at the foundation of late South African leader Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, said they hope to bring 100 boats for their next attempt.
“It is a cause... for those that want to rise and stand for justice and dignity for all,” Mr Mandela’s grandson, Mr Mandla Mandela, who was among activists detained last time, told the gathering. “We want to mobilise the... global community to join forces with us.”
Israeli officials repeatedly denounced the 2025 mission, and previous smaller-scale attempts to reach Gaza by sea, as publicity stunts.
Israel, which controls all access to the Gaza Strip, denies withholding supplies for its more than two million residents. Palestinians and international aid bodies say supplies reaching the territory are still insufficient, despite a ceasefire reached in October which included guarantees of increased aid.
Following the ceasefire, Israeli forces now control more than 53 per cent of the Gaza Strip, where they have ordered residents out. Nearly the entire population is crowded into a narrow strip along the coast, mostly living in makeshift tents and damaged buildings.
If the flotilla is blocked again, the activists said it would still be worth it to highlight Gaza’s plight.
“We may not have reached Gaza physically (but) we have reached... the people in Gaza,” said one of the activists, Ms Susan Abdallah. “They know that we care, that we will not stop at anything until we actually break the siege.” REUTERS
