Humanitarian flotilla returns to Spain due to bad weather just hours after setting sail for Gaza
The mission, comprising some 20 vessels and around 300 individuals - including the Swedish political activist Greta Thunberg, aims to return to sea as soon as possible
Bad weather has forced a change of plans for the international flotilla that set off for Gaza on Sunday, 31 August. Only a few hours after setting sail from the port of Barcelona, where some 5,000 people had gathered to support the members of the new mission - the Global Sumud Flotilla - several of the boats participating in the initiative had to turn back due to the bad sea conditions. The captains of the vessels will decide this Monday whether to resume the initiative, which aims to take food and medicine to Gaza, as well as to open a humanitarian corridor to break the Israeli blockade.
Among the boats that had to turn back were those of the young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and of the former mayor of the Catalan capital - Ada Colau. The expedition that set off from the Moll de la Fusta in Barcelona has some 300 people and more than 20 vessels, between 12 and 20 metres in length, loaded with aid donated mainly by the civilian population. According to mission sources, the trip is expected to resume this Monday afternoon.
The vessels that also left Genoa on Sunday have not encountered any problems at sea. The Global Sumud Flotilla ('sumud' means 'resistance' in Arabic) will be expanded later this week with the departure of more vessels from other Mediterranean ports - Tunisia, Greece and Sicily. In total, 44 countries are involved in the operation. Thunberg, who acted as spokesperson for the mission in Barcelona, stressed that this initiative is "different" to previous ones in terms of the numbers involved. She described it as "historic".
Israel threatens to treat members of the mission as terrorists, claiming that it undermines its sovereignty and supports Hamas
The fate of this flotilla, however, could be the same as that of the Handala or Madleen ships, which were detained in July and June, respectively, as they approached the Gazan coast with aid. Hebrew national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir presented a plan to stop the mission on Sunday at a meeting attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to them, the expedition seeks to undermine Israel's sovereignty and give Hamas a foothold, for which reason they will consider the activists as terrorists.
