by InTrieste
Eighteen Italian boats joined an international flotilla on Saturday in an effort to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, departing from the Sicilian port of Augusta after weather delays earlier in the week.
The vessels, part of what organizers have called the Global Sumud Flotilla, represent the largest independent initiative to send aid directly to Gaza. They are scheduled to meet in the Mediterranean Sea with other boats that left from Tunisia, including ships that had set out from Barcelona.
On board the Italian contingent were four opposition politicians: Benedetta Scuderi, a member of the European Parliament from the Green-Left Alliance; Arturo Scotto and Annalisa Corrado of the center-left Democratic Party; and Marco Croatti, a senator with the Five Star Movement.
The combined fleet is expected to include about 50 boats carrying some 600 passengers, among them the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Organizers said the Italian vessels would transport nearly 500 tons of food collected in Genoa, coordinated by the nonprofit group Music for Peace.
The flotilla aims to challenge Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and deliver supplies directly to civilians. Israel has long defended the blockade as necessary for security, while critics say it contributes to worsening humanitarian conditions.
The departure comes after two flotilla boats anchored in Tunisian waters were damaged last week in strikes that organizers attributed to drones launched from the Tunisian coast. The incident drew protests in Italy and heightened concerns over the mission’s safety.
Italy’s right-wing government has emphasized that aid to Gaza should be delivered through established humanitarian channels but has pledged to provide consular assistance to Italians taking part in the flotilla.
The progress of the boats can be followed on the Global Sumud Flotilla’s website.
