The organizers of an international flotilla of boats carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza announced Thursday their intention to conduct a new mission with more than 100 boats in March.
The activists, who organized a similar aid flotilla last year, described the upcoming mission as the largest civilian mobilization against Israel's actions in Gaza. They called on the international community to prevent Israeli forces from intercepting the operation.
“We are here to announce that we will be sailing this time with thousands of participants, including more than 1,000 doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals, more than 100 boats, and we hereby invite participants from all nations and countries. The departure will be from Barcelona, as with the original historic departure, then to Tunisia, Italy, and other Mediterranean ports,” announced activist Sümeyra Akdeniz Ordu.
The announcement was made at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in South Africa and among the speakers was Mandla Mandela, grandson of the former South African president .
“We therefore want to call on all members of Parliament who support the Palestinian cause to join us, and we call on our President, His Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa, to implement what has been adopted by our national Parliament, namely to expel the Israeli ambassador and close the embassy. This has been the call of our Parliament,” said activist Mandla Mandela.
The United Nations has stated that hundreds of thousands of pallets of humanitarian supplies have been unloaded and collected at various crossing points into Gaza since the ceasefire was announced in October. Mandla Mandela was part of the flotilla that set sail for a mission to Gaza last year and was detained along with other activists when their boat was intercepted by Israeli forces before they could reach the Gaza coast.
