September 30, 2025 | 01:05 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The international aid fleet Global Sumud Flotilla is nearing Gaza Strip in an effort to break the Israeli blockade in the Palestinian enclave. "We are 570 kilometers (307.7 nautical miles) away from reaching Gaza," said the International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza through X account.
Three activists from Indonesia are participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla mission. They are activist Wanda Hamidah, Muhammad Fatur Rohman from Aqsa Working Group (AWG), and Muhammad Hussein from Indonesia Global Peace Convoy (IGPC).
When contacted by Tempo on Monday, September 29, 2025, Hussein revealed that his vessel was already in international waters between Greece, Cyprus, and Gaza. "Since last night, we have left Greek waters," said Hussein, adding that the boat was in good condition despite the high waves.
As reported by Anadolu, Tony La Piccirella, an Italian activist from Global Sumud Flotilla, said in a video statement that they would reach the point on Tuesday. At that point, the aid ships Madleen and Handala had been intercepted by the Israeli navy during respective attempts to break the Israeli siege and deliver humanitarian aid.
On July 26, 2025, the Israeli navy intercepted the aid ship Handala as it approached the coast of Gaza and escorted it to the Port of Ashdod. The ship had reached approximately 70 nautical miles from Gaza, surpassing the distance traveled by Madleen, which reached 110 miles before being halted.
A group of activists joined the Global Sumud Fleet from the Mediterranean on Monday, and two more ships will be joining from the Greek Cypriot Administration and Turkish Government. The largest ship of the flotilla will sail on Tuesday with 100 people on board.
La Piccirella said that in addition to the Italian and Spanish navies providing protection for the fleet, three more countries are considering sending more military ships. He did not mention the names of the countries providing assistance.
"So, it's getting bigger. And it's not about us, about the Global Sumud Flotilla. It's like a movement with hundreds of people at sea and millions of people on land, and it's not stoppable until the siege is broken," he said.
Global Sumud Flotilla, made up of about 50 ships, set sail earlier this month in a bid to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, particularly medical supplies, to the war-torn enclave.
Since March 2, Israel has kept Gaza’s crossings closed, blocking food and aid convoys, exacerbating the famine conditions in the enclave.
The Israeli military has killed more than 66,000 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has left much of the territory uninhabitable, worsening hunger and the spread of disease.
Adinda Jasmine contributed to the writing of this report.
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