ROME, Apr 27 — Activists from several countries, including Malaysia, set sail from Sicily towards the Gaza Strip yesterday on dozens of ships carrying civilian aid, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.
After a weather-related delay, 56 ships departed from a port near Syracuse, the Global Sumud Flotilla said, describing its aid campaign as the largest flotilla ever to attempt to reach the Gaza Strip.
The pro-Palestinian activists are again seeking to breach the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip that has been in place since 2007, in order to deliver aid supplies to the densely populated area, which has been heavily affected by two years of intense bombardment.
The declared aim of the Global Sumud Flotilla is also to advance the establishment of a permanent humanitarian corridor.
Israel has consistently blocked attempts by activists to breach the naval blockade off the sealed-off coastal territory.
A vessel carrying Global Sumud Flotilla activists is ready to journey to Gaza from Sicily, Italy, on April 26, 2026.
In a previous attempt last year, a Global Sumud Flotilla group of private sailboats and motorboats was intercepted by Israeli special forces and prevented from reaching the area.
According to the organisation, the ships that have now set off plan to rendezvous at sea with several more boats departing from other countries before continuing east.
The flotilla is being accompanied by a vessel from Spanish aid organisation Open Arms and the Arctic Sunrise from environmental group Greenpeace.
