BIZERTE, Tunisia: A flotilla bound for Gaza carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists set sail on Monday (Sep 15) from Tunisia after repeated delays, aiming to break Israel’s blockade and deliver aid to the Palestinian territory.
“The fleet that departed Barcelona is already at sea, and the Tunisian boats are now setting sail in stages,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement.
“They will converge on the water and continue together to meet the Italian and Greek ships,” it added.
At least 18 boats set sail Saturday from Catania in southern Italy, accompanied by a support vessel from the Italian NGO Emergency, according to organisers and Italian media. Another two boats departed Greece on Sunday to join them.
“We are trying to send a message to the people of Gaza that the world has not forgotten about you,” Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg said before boarding in Tunisia’s northern port of Bizerte.
“When our governments are failing to step up then we have no choice but to take matters into our own hands,” she told AFP.
Around 20 boats that had sailed from Barcelona converged in Bizerte, with the last vessels leaving at dawn, an AFP journalist reported.
Yasemin Acar, who helps coordinate the flotilla from the Maghreb, posted images on Instagram of Tunisian boats departing other ports near Tunis in the early hours.
“The blockade of Gaza must end” and “We are leaving for solidarity, dignity and justice”, the caption said.
The vessels, which were welcomed by support rallies in Tunisia, had transferred to Bizerte after a turbulent stay in Sidi Bou Said near Tunis.
