The Mavi Marmara taking part in the Freedom Flotilla to break the Gaza blockade. Photo: AFP.
A Freedom Flotilla attempting to bring supplies to Gaza was halted in Turkey on Saturday after being refused access to two of its ships, which organizers blame on Israeli pressure.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), an international humanitarian organization, unveiled plans to dispatch three vessels from the port of Tuzla on the Sea of Marmara with intentions to take off Friday.
With over 1,000 professionals, including doctors, lawyers, and academics, onboard, the Gaza Freedom Flotilla aims to deliver aid directly to the besieged Strip.
The #FreedomFlotilla has completed technical & crewing requirements to launch our emergency mission on Friday April 26. Tons of life-saving aid & 100s of human rights observers to ensure aid gets to Palestinians in Gaza without interference #BreakTheSiegehttps://t.co/BsaXuarocR pic.twitter.com/9FBJBydsJH
— Freedom Flotilla Coalition (@GazaFFlotilla) April 24, 2024
The alliance of NGOs and groups failed to set sail after Guinea-Bissau withdrew their flagged vessels.
“Sadly, Guinea-Bissau has allowed itself to become complicit in Israel’s deliberate starvation, illegal siege and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza,” the Freedom Flotilla Coalition stated in a statement.
The statement detailed that “The Guinea-Bissau International Ships Registry (GBISR), in a blatantly political move, informed the Freedom Flotilla Coalition that it had withdrawn the Guinea Bissau flag from two of the Freedom Flotilla’s ships, one of which is our cargo ship, already loaded with over 5,000 tons of life-saving aid.”
The organization said that Guinea-Bissau officials made many “extraordinary” demands for information, including destinations, prospective future port calls, cargo manifests, and predicted arrival dates and times.
“Normally, national flagging authorities concern themselves only with safety and related standards on vessels bearing their flag,” it added, comparing the situation to being questioned about destinations when registering a car.
At an Istanbul news conference, some 280 volunteers — activists, attorneys, and physicians — who had wanted to join the ships chanted chants such as “Flag the flotilla,” “We will sail,” and “Free Palestine.”
Concerns are being voiced, especially after the last incident back in 2010 when an attempt to break the blockade on Gaza by a flotilla setting sail from Turkey brought a fatal confrontation between the Israeli navy and crew onboard, causing the deaths of nine passengers and sparking a diplomatic crisis between the two parties.
UN agencies have warned that naval supply alone will not be adequate to prevent hunger in Gaza, and have urged Israel to open up more border crossings for road convoys.
War on Gaza resulted in worst food crisis ever recorded: IPC analysis
According to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2024, wars are the leading cause of food insecurity, describing the food crisis in the Gaza Strip as the worst in eight years.
The GRFC is the flagship report of the Global Network against Food Crises (GNAFC), which was facilitated by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN). The GNAFC is a coalition of development and humanitarian agencies working to alleviate food shortages.
The study identifies war as the primary driver of acute food insecurity, and this year’s edition focuses on two crisis-stricken regions: Sudan and Gaza.
The war on the Gaza Strip resulted in the greatest food crisis ever recorded, according to an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) research. The whole Gaza population is classified as IPC Phase 3 (crisis) or worse, with 50% anticipated to be in a condition of disaster (IPC Phase 5), which occurs when people confront an acute scarcity of food and exhaustion of coping skills.
In early April, the US humanitarian envoy in Gaza, David Satterfield, affirmed that famine looms over all 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza.
During a briefing hosted by the American Jewish Committee, Satterfield stated that “this is not a point in debate. It is an established fact, which the United States, its experts, the international community, its experts assess and believe is real,” adding that the ongoing dehumanization of Palestinians cannot continue, regardless of the events of October 7 and its effects on settler society and the capturing of captives.
Famine threatens the 300,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza, he highlighted, as “Israel” deliberately prevents aid deliveries and intentionally starves civilians in the territory.
