FLOTILLAS COALITION AGAINST THE SIEGE
Breaking Israel’s illegal 18-year blockade
by Serena Ferrari (Sissi)
Special thanks to Lucia Intruglio & Michele Borgia Freedom Flotilla Coalition Italia
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Global Sumud Flotilla
Sumud Flotilla was founded in 2023 and is a global, civilian-led coalition of organisers, doctors, artists, clergy, lawyers and seafarers from over 47 countries.
In 2025, it organised the largest civilian mission to Gaza to date, bringing together more than 40 vessels and delegations from 44 countries.
Over 400 activists, including Greta Thunberg, sailed or supported the mission.
Followed by millions on global livestreams, the flotilla drew unprecedented international attention as it attempted to open a humanitarian corridor to Gaza.
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Freedom Flotilla Coalition
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), created in 2010, is an international network of campaigns from more than 15 countries, including Italy, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, South Africa, Canada and the UK.
In May 2010, Israeli commandos stormed its six-ship flotilla in international waters, killing nine activists and injuring dozens, prompting global condemnation and UN investigations.
In September 2025, the Coalition departed from San Giovanni li Cuti, Catania (Sicily) with 10 civilian vessels carrying around 70 activists from over 20 countries, including parliamentarians, human-rights lawyers and civil-society leaders.
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Thousand Madleens to Gaza
1000 Madleens to Gaza is a fast-growing global civilian initiative launched in 2025 after the small vessel Madleens parked a wave of international solidarity.
What began as a single Instagram post has expanded into a coordinated effort involving volunteers from London, France, Brazil, Tunisia and beyond.
The campaign is now building a large, structured flotilla, supported by thousands across Telegram and Instagram.
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F.lotta
F.lotta is an Italy-based collective active on two fronts in 2025: protesting EU and Italian restrictions on sea rescues in the Central Mediterranean (No-borders campaign), and participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza.
In the Mediterranean, it challenges policies that hinder rescue operations. In the Gaza flotilla, it joins international activists sailing to deliver aid and uphold humanitarian and maritime law.
In 2025, four flotillas — Global Sumud; Freedom Flotilla; Thousand Madleens; and F.lotta, — sailed with one goal: to break the siege on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid.
Global Sumud Flotilla
The Global Sumud Flotilla — sumud meaning steadfastness or resilience — was launched in 2025 by a broad alliance of organisations and movements.
It replicated the Freedom Flotilla’s model on a larger scale, with ships departing from Catalonia, Tunisia and Italy, and activists from over 44 countries on board.
Before departure, two boats were hit by drones off the Tunisian coast (Le Monde), but the flotilla pressed on toward Gaza carrying medical aid and food. In early October, its final vessel, the Marinette, was intercepted by Israeli forces about 42 nautical miles from the Gaza coast (Reuters).
The Sumud organisers have since announced plans for a “Second Wave” in 2026, aiming to mobilise up to 1,000 civilian boats worldwide (Malay Mail).
Its message remains clear: Breaking the siege it is a moral and political imperative.
Freedom Flotilla Coalition: The historic voice of maritime resistance
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) remains the most established of these initiatives.
It grew out of the earlier “Free Gaza movement“ , which in 2008 sent the boats “Free Gaza” and “Liberty to Gaza” with 44 passengers, including Vittorio Arrigoni — the first successful sea arrivals since 1967.
These early missions laid the groundwork for broader international coordination, leading to the formal creation of the FFC in 2010, uniting national campaigns into a single coalition for future flotilla missions.
Over the years, Israel has consistently intercepted, seized and confiscated FFC vessels and their humanitarian cargoes, often detaining and deporting participants. Yet the movement has never stopped.
2010 Mission - 9 activists killed, more than 600 detained.
On 31 May 2010, six civilian ships—known collectively as the Freedom Flotilla—were sailing in international waters toward Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid and challenge Israel’s blockade.
Before the flotilla reached Gaza:
Israeli naval commandos intercepted the ships about 70–80 nautical miles from the Gaza coast, outside Israel’s territorial waters.
Commandos boarded the vessels from speedboats and helicopters, focusing on the largest ship, the Mavi Marmara, where most passengers were located.
Nine activists aboard the Mavi Marmara were shot and killed during the raid.
A tenth activist died in 2014 from injuries sustained during the incident.
Dozens were injured, including passengers and several Israeli soldiers.
More than 600 civilians from 36 countries were detained by Israel after the ships were seized.
The raid triggered global condemnation, emergency UN Security Council sessions, and multiple investigations.
A UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission concluded that Israeli forces used excessive and disproportionate force.
The UN Secretary-General’s Palmer Report later criticised both the flotilla organisers and Israel, but still found the killings “unacceptable” and the force used “excessive.”Diplomatic relations between Turkey and Israel severely deteriorated.
The incident became one of the most high-profile confrontations at sea in recent decades and it led to the formation of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition as a coordinated international network.
2025 Missions and Incidents
May 2025 — Drone attack on Conscience: The vessel was struck by Israeli drones 14 miles off Malta in international waters, injuring crew members and causing fire damage to the hull (The Guardian).
June 2025 — Interception of Madleen: The ship, which included activists such as Greta Thunberg, was intercepted about 100 miles from Gaza and escorted to Ashdod by Israeli forces (Reuters).
July 2025 — Seizure of Handala: The Handala was blocked 50 miles from Gaza; its crew abducted and equipment confiscated (Freedom Flotilla Coalition).
September – October 2025 — Southern departures: Vessels departed from Otranto and Catania carrying medical supplies, nurses and journalists. All were stopped before reaching Gaza.
By November 2025, most ships had been intercepted or detained, their crews released after interrogation.
Despite losses, the Coalition has vowed to continue its missions in 2026, asserting that “solidarity cannot be confiscated at sea.”
For the Freedom Flotilla, these were not mere humanitarian convoys but acts of international civil disobedience — confronting the complicity of Western governments and demanding an end to military, economic and academic cooperation with Israel.
Freedom Flotilla: Thousand Madleens to Gaza
Named after the Freedom Flotilla vessel Madleen — itself inspired by Madleen Kulab, Gaza’s first female fisherwoman — the Thousand Madleens to Gaza initiative transforms a single story of courage into a global symbol of resistance.
Launched after the seizure of the Madleen in June 2025, this project involves dozens of boats representing the determination to end the blockade.
It uses non-violent direct action and grassroots mobilisation to engage communities, artists and activists worldwide.
Started spontaneously on Instagram, it has rapidly grown into an international campaign recruiting volunteers, legal and maritime experts, and supporters worldwide. As of November 2025, more than 400 groups and collectives have joined the initiative, organising solidarity events in European and Latin American ports.
The movement is now preparing its next large, non-violent flotilla, aiming to gather 1,000 civilian ships to challenge the Gaza blockade under international law.
F.lotta: The new wave of activist energy
F.lotta represents a younger, intersectional generation of activists emerging in response to Italy’s escalating restrictions on sea-rescue operations and the wider EU policy known as “Fortress Europe.”
Operating in a context where the far-right Meloni government has imposed limits on NGO rescues — several of which Italian courts have ruled unlawful under international maritime law — F.lotta links these struggles across regions, from migrant solidarity in the Central Mediterranean to anti-colonial resistance in Gaza.
Their name — F.lotta (“fleet/struggle”-in Italian) — reflects a dual commitment: protecting life at sea and challenging policies that endanger civilians.
In 2025, the group launched a digital media network connecting Mediterranean ports through live broadcasts and ship-tracking, countering media blackouts and amplifying first-hand reports from activists.
This same infrastructure supports F.lotta’s participation in Gaza-bound flotillas, uniting the defence of maritime rescue obligations with broader civilian-led solidarity efforts.
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