The Global Sumud Flotillas head to the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid 

On September 16, 2025, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory concluded “Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” Specifically,  Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces committed four of the five genocidal acts defined in the 1948 Genocide Convention: killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction of the group as a whole or in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent births. 

Earlier in August, multiple UN-backed organizations had reported that people in the Gaza Strip are trapped in famine, the situation passing the three thresholds—extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition, and starvation-related death—as well. The crisis is largely due to the severe restrictions on humanitarian access; Israel had rejected numerous NGOs’ requests to deliver food and medicine with claims that they do not want the supplies to fall into the hands of Hamas, and only allowed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)—a US-backed “non-governmental” organization made by Israel—to distribute aid. UN experts reported Israeli forces and foreign contractors continued to fire attacks in GHF’s “distribution zones,” resulting in over 4000 injuries and 1400 deaths of Palestinians who were seeking food. 

Following this news, the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), the largest maritime mission to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, was launched. Under solidarity, human rights activists from 44 different countries united, and over 50 ships departed from the Mediterranean ports around late August. 

Although great in scale, all participants of this mission are risking their lives to deliver aid. Israel has a history of attacking flotillas on international waters before, despite the high seas being out of their jurisdiction, and the attack or seizure of non-violent, humanitarian vessels on international waters is illegal under international law. For instance, in 2010, Israeli commandos raided a Freedom Flotilla vessel and killed 10 activists and injured dozens of them on the vessel. Yet, the Israeli authorities disparaged the GSF and other maritime aids, calling one of the boats a “selfie yacht.” To such accusations, Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist participating in the GSF mission, responded: "I don't think anyone would risk their life for a publicity stunt." Greta Thunberg and 11 other activists were detained by Israeli authorities in June when their Gaza-bound aid boat was intercepted.

So far—October first, 2025—the leading vessels of GSF attempting to pass through Israel’s blockade around Gaza had reported Israeli warships “aggressively circled” around the vessel, forcing the captain to take evasive maneuvers. The boats’ communications were cut off during the interaction. Although the vessels had reported they were back on course, Israeli officials had announced that they would not allow the vessels to reach their destination before, and their history of aid boat interceptions cannot be overlooked. 

Works Cited

Duggal, Hanna. “Gaza Sumud Flotilla: How Israel Breaks International Maritime Law.” Al Jazeera, Oct. 2025, www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/1/gaza-sumud-flotilla-how-israel-breaks-international-maritime-law. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.

Mulligan, Euan O’Byrne. “Greta Thunberg Denies Claims Gaza Flotilla Is a Publicity Stunt.” BBC, 28 Sept. 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx25grpxzd3o.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. “Israel Has Committed Genocide in the Gaza Strip, UN Commission Finds.” OHCHR, 2025, www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/israel-has-committed-genocide-gaza-strip-un-commission-finds.

---. “UN Experts Call for Immediate Dismantling of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.” OHCHR, 2025, www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/08/un-experts-call-immediate-dismantling-gaza-humanitarian-foundation.

Williams, Nathan. “Activists Say Gaza Flotilla Circled by Israeli Warship.” BBC, 1 Oct. 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyr2lwg1rjo.

World Health Organization. “Famine Confirmed for First Time in Gaza.” Who.int, World Health Organization: WHO, 22 Aug. 2025, www.who.int/news/item/22-08-2025-famine-confirmed-for-first-time-in-gaza.