The convoy is now sailing through international waters in the Strait of Sicily to link up with an Italian reinforcement fleet near Pachino, having departed from Tunisia’s Bizerte earlier this week following repeated delays.
The GSF—bringing together hundreds of activists, seafarers, doctors, artists and lawmakers from over 40 countries—set sail from Barcelona and Genoa earlier this month.
It unites the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), North Africa’s Maghreb Sumud Convoy, and Malaysia’s Nusantara Sumud in what organizers call a “unified strategy” to challenge Israel’s siege, forming the largest flotilla to head for Palestine in more than 15 years of FFC attempts.
Governments warn Israel to back off
On Tuesday, 16 governments issued a rare joint statement warning Israel not to attack or detain the flotilla, in what organizers called an unprecedented show of diplomatic backing for the civil society mission.
The foreign ministers of Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Ireland, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Pakistan, Qatar, Oman, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, and Turkey said their citizens are aboard the flotilla and urged all parties to respect international law.
They said the GSF had informed them of its objective “of delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and raising awareness about the urgent humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people and the need to stop the war in Gaza.”
The flotilla aims to challenge Israel’s naval blockade, imposed on Gaza since 2007 and tightened further since the start of its genocidal war on the enclave in October 2023.
“We therefore call on everyone to refrain from any unlawful or violent act against the flotilla, to respect international law and international humanitarian law,” the statement read, warning that “any violation of international law and human rights of the participants in the flotilla, including attacks against the vessels in international waters or illegal detention, will lead to accountability.”
Momentum builds across Europe
Two Greece-flagged boats, the Oxygen and the Ilektra, are also sailing to join the GSF after departing the island of Syros on Sunday evening carrying humanitarian cargo.
Around 500 people chanting “Free Palestine” gathered at the port of Ermopoulis to see them off, according to AFP.
“This is the way to show Israel that it shouldn’t have the right to impose starvation,” said 39-year-old crew member Kostas Fourikos. “And of course to send the message of solidarity to the Palestinians, who suffer so much.”
The flotilla’s tracker placed the vessels in international waters off Greece’s Trachilas coast on Wednesday afternoon.
Greek islands including Syros, Rhodes and Crete have seen a wave of anti-Israel protests in recent months, including July demonstrations to block the Israeli cruise ship Crown Iris from docking.
Egyptian flotilla behind schedule, but powering through
In Egypt, a grassroots committee calling itself the Egyptian Sumud Flotilla to Break the Siege on Gaza is attempting to link up with the GSF, having already secured a vessel donated by an anonymous Egyptian citizen.
Group coordinator Khaled Basiony said more than 55 Egyptian activists and civil society actors have pledged to join, and that the group has formally requested permits from Egypt’s presidency, cabinet, and the ministries of foreign affairs, interior, and transport.
On Tuesday, the flotilla announced it was halting material donations after collecting what organizers described as “enormous quantities” of aid that exceed the current capacity of its planned boats.
Instead, the group has shifted its focus to recruiting volunteers to sort, package, and eventually set sail aboard the ship to deliver the stockpiled supplies to Gaza, steering committee member and legal representative Mamdouh Gamal said during a press conference on Monday.
He said the initiative has already drawn applications from “28 assistant captains, 100 doctors, more than 100 paramedics, 200 journalists, over 70 students, in addition to thousands of citizens.”
Two days earlier, organisers invited 11 national bodies, including the Coordination Committee of Party Youth Leaders and Politicians, the syndicates of acting, cinema and music professions, the National Council for Women, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, and the General Union of Maritime Transport Workers, to join what they described as “a citizen-led initiative reflecting the unwavering stance of the Egyptian public against the genocide and forced displacement faced by the Palestinian people.”
However, none of these groups have issued a formal endorsement, and the flotilla has yet to receive government clearance to sail.
“The flotilla’s goal is not just to deliver aid; it also seeks to help break the inhumane blockade imposed on Gaza for years, a collective crime that no free conscience can accept,” the group said in a statement.
Mission braced for further attacks
Unlike previous flotilla missions, the GSF has no fixed route or central port of departure.
Instead, separate delegations are converging from across the Mediterranean, including fleets from Italy, Greece, and France, with the Egyptian mission expected to join, though the GSF steering committee has not disclosed where or how they plan to assemble before sailing on to Gaza.
The lack of a declared route comes after a series of security incidents disrupted the flotilla’s launch from Tunisia.
On 9 September, two flotilla vessels—the Portuguese-flagged Family and the British-flagged Alma—were damaged in separate suspected drone attacks while anchored off Tunisia's coast.
GSF posted videos showing a device dropping onto the Alma, setting its deck alight. Organizers said an incendiary object also ignited a blaze on the Family.
Tunisian authorities denied any drone activity, insisting one blast originated internally, and have opened an investigation.
However, BBC Verify confirmed the authenticity of footage showing the impacts. Independent military analysts stated that the angle of the strikes suggested the payloads were "dropped, rather than launched or fired."
United Nations (UN) special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who was at the port, warned that if confirmed, the strikes would amount to "an assault on Tunisian sovereignty."
No casualties were reported, but the incidents have heightened fears of further strikes.
Organizers say they are taking security precautions, citing direct threats from Israeli officials and the flotilla’s history of violent interceptions and mass detentions on previous missions.
In June, 12 activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, were detained at sea and deported after their sailboat, the FFC's Madleen, was stopped 185 kilometres from Gaza.
In July, Israeli forces seized 21 activists aboard the FFC's Handala, confiscating their aid cargo of food, baby formula, and medicine.
The activists launched a hunger strike immediately after their detention, during which some reported verbal and physical abuse while being held — in some cases for over a month.
Escalating backlash over Gaza war
The flotilla’s advance comes as international condemnation of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza intensifies.
On Tuesday, a United Nations inquiry formally declared that Israel is committing genocide in the strip, citing the destruction of civilian infrastructure, forced displacement and deliberate deprivation of food and medicine.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also described the situation in Gaza as “horrendous” and Israel’s conduct of the war as “intolerable.”
At an emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha this week, leaders and foreign ministers from across the region urged unified action to end Israel’s blockade and pressed for sanctions, boycotts, and diplomatic isolation until Israel halts its assault.
Over two million people remain displaced in Gaza, with Israel now occupying parts of Gaza City and famine still spreading across the enclave, according to UN agencies.
Israeli occupation forces have killed almost 65,000 Palestinians, injured over 160,000, and more than 9,000 remain missing under the rubble, since the outbreak of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.
Of those killed, at least 428 Palestinians, including over 145 children, died of starvation due to the Israeli-imposed six-month-long land, sea, and air blockade.
The GSF says its mission is both humanitarian and political: to break Israel’s 19-year naval blockade and demonstrate global solidarity with Palestinians enduring genocide and famine.
"We are everyday people, and we are carrying life," said Saif Abukeshek, a GSF spokesperson. "We are not asking permission from those who starve children."
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