The International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza announced on Sunday that a new wave of ships will set sail next Wednesday from southern Italy, with the participation of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and the Thousand Madelines to Gaza (TMTG) initiative.
The committee explained in a statement that the new initiative will be implemented through a "naval fleet consisting of several ships that will set sail on September 24," coinciding with the departure of approximately 50 ships within the Global Resilience Fleet.
The ships are carrying humanitarian aid, particularly medical supplies, in an attempt to provide a lifeline for the Gaza Strip, which has been under siege for 18 years. The Strip is facing a stifling famine due to Israel's complete closure of the crossings since March 2, preventing the entry of aid except in limited quantities that fail to meet minimum needs.
The committee noted that the initiative is named "A Thousand Madelines" in honor of Madeline Kollab, the first female fisherman in Gaza, and the Madeline boat, which attempted to reach Gaza last June before being blocked by Israeli authorities.
She emphasized that "it is a moral and humanitarian duty for every free person in the world to participate in breaking the siege and seizing a sea corridor to Gaza." She added that the launch of the new flotilla "comes from the participation and cooperation of a coalition of two global popular initiatives, at a time when 50 ships are sailing as part of the global steadfastness fleet."
It also comes "at a time when the Freedom Flotilla is planning to launch a ship with a new and unique concept (which it did not specify) at the beginning of next month," October, according to the statement.
The committee stressed that "at a time when the pain in Gaza is growing and the Israeli occupation is committing genocide in every form and shape, it is the duty of every free person in the world to take to the sea and secure a passage that will break the siege and provide a lifeline to the Gaza Strip ."
For days, dozens of ships have been sailing as part of the Global Steadfastness Flotilla to break the siege on the Gaza Strip. On September 16, the International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza announced that the flotilla's ships would gather near Malta to sail together across the Mediterranean toward the shores of Gaza, without specifying a date.
These ships are carrying humanitarian aid, particularly medical supplies, for the Gaza Strip. This is the first time such a large number of ships have sailed together toward the Gaza Strip, home to approximately 2.4 million Palestinians and under an 18-year Israeli blockade.
Israel, the occupying power in the Palestinian territories, has previously engaged in piracy against individual ships sailing toward Gaza, seizing them and deporting the activists on board.
Since March 2, Israel has closed all crossings into Gaza, preventing the entry of any food or humanitarian aid, plunging the Strip into famine despite the backlog of aid trucks at its borders.
Israel sometimes allows very limited aid into the Strip, which fails to meet the minimum needs of the starving population and does not end the famine, especially since most trucks are robbed by gangs that the Gaza government claims Israel protects.
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving 65,208 martyrs and 166,271 wounded, most of them children and women, and a famine that has claimed the lives of 442 Palestinians, including 147 children.
Israel has occupied Palestine and territories in Syria and Lebanon for decades, and refuses to withdraw from these areas and establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the pre-1967 borders.
