2024-04-15 09:27:05
The International Freedom Flotilla with aid to the Palestinian residents of Gaza set off this morning (Monday) from several ports throughout the Mediterranean Sea. This was stated in a press conference where it was said that a ship will leave Libya, a ship will sail from Lebanon and a Turkish ship will make its way to Al-Arish, the capital of North Sinai in Egypt. The activists are supposed to unload about 10 thousand tons of aid in Al-Arish and from there lead it to the Rafah crossing. It was also reported in Istanbul that another ship, “Khandala”, will sail from Scandinavia this May.
The ships will carry humanitarian aid equipment and journalists and peace activists from Turkey, Canada, South Africa, Spain, the USA, Malaysia, Norway, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Sweden. “No one will sit still and be silent about what Israel is doing in Gaza: genocide,” “We must save Gaza and its inhabitants from the cruelty of the terrible war,” they stressed.
In May 2010, a similar flotilla left for Gaza in order to break the Israeli blockade of Harza’a and in an attempt to deliver humanitarian aid, with six ships carrying hundreds of activists. Israel refused to allow their arrival in the Strip and the soldiers of the 13th Fleet took control of the ships outside Israel’s territorial waters.
Five ships encountered little resistance, but during the takeover of the large ship “Mabi Marmara” a violent confrontation developed. Soldiers opened fire, nine activists were killed, 20 were wounded, and in addition ten soldiers were wounded, two of them seriously. The incident caused a serious political crisis with Turkey, and a storm in the world. In 2013, through the mediation of US President Barack Obama, Israel apologized to Turkey for the incident, three years later a reconciliation agreement was reached between Turkey and Israel, in which Israel agreed to pay compensation to the passengers of the “Mabi Marmara”.
More on the subject:
The press conference held in Istanbul in which details were given about the flotilla to Gaza (Photo: International Freedom Flotilla)
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