Larger than ever aid flotilla being prepared for Gaza

Activists whose attempt to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza was stopped by Israel last year say they are planning a significantly larger flotilla in a renewed effort to break the blockade on the territory.

According to international media reports, organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla said on Thursday they expect as many as 100 boats to take part in the next mission, more than double the number involved in the previous attempt. The flotilla could carry up to 1,000 medical workers and volunteers.

In October, Israeli forces intercepted around 40 vessels as they approached Gaza, detaining hundreds of participants, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Israeli authorities at the time dismissed the mission as a media-driven provocation.

Members of the group met this week at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg to rally support. Mandla Mandela, the grandson of South Africa’s former president Nelson Mandela and one of those detained during the earlier voyage, called on the international community to stand behind the initiative.

“This is about justice and dignity,” Mandela told attendees, urging people around the world to join the effort.

Israel, which controls access to Gaza by land, sea and air, rejects accusations that it is blocking essential supplies to the enclave’s roughly two million residents. Aid agencies and Palestinian officials, however, say humanitarian assistance remains far below what is needed, even after an October ceasefire that included commitments to allow in more aid.

Since the ceasefire, Israeli forces have taken control of more than half of the Gaza Strip, issuing evacuation orders in large areas. Most of Gaza’s population has been pushed into a narrow coastal zone, where many are sheltering in tents or damaged buildings.

Flotilla organisers said that even if the vessels are prevented from reaching Gaza again, the mission would still serve a purpose by drawing attention to the humanitarian crisis.

“We may not arrive physically, but our message reaches the people of Gaza,” activist Susan Abdallah said. “They know they are not forgotten.”

WEST BANK DISPLACEMENT REACHES NEW HIGH

Meanwhile, violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank forced nearly 700 Palestinians from their homes in January, according to the United Nations, marking the highest monthly displacement since the Gaza war began in October 2023.

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA reported that at least 694 Palestinians were displaced during the month. The UN human rights office has previously warned that settler attacks have become a major driver of forced displacement in the territory.

January’s figures were partly driven by the evacuation of an entire Bedouin herding community in the Jordan Valley. Around 130 families left the area after months of intimidation and repeated attacks.

Residents said the pressure had become unbearable. “The community has completely collapsed under continuous assaults, day and night, for two years,” said Farhan Jahaleen, a member of the displaced community.

Israeli rights group Peace Now says settlers often use grazing activity to establish control over agricultural land, gradually cutting off Palestinian access. The organisation accused settlers of using threats and violence to push Palestinians out, with the support of Israeli authorities and the military.

Humanitarian groups say the lack of international scrutiny has worsened the situation. Allegra Pacheco, who leads the West Bank Protection Consortium, said the focus on Gaza has left abuses in the West Bank largely ignored.

“While attention is fixed on Gaza, forced displacement in the West Bank continues with little accountability,” she said.

The occupied West Bank, excluding Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, is home to about 490,000 Israeli settlers living in communities widely regarded as illegal under international law. Roughly three million Palestinians also live in the territory.