2020 Flotilla Delayed

In light of global health restrictions on travel and public gatherings, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition is delaying our planned departure for Gaza. We had initially planned to visit several southern European ports in April and May, and head for Gaza at the end of May, to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara and other Freedom Flotilla vessels in 2010, that killed 10 peace activists. We will stand with our IHH partners as they commemorate those deaths and press for justice at the International Criminal Court .

With the help of supporters like you, we recently purchased a boat for this year’s voyage. Visit our updated website for updates about this boat and our preparations over the coming months. We will decide when our next voyage will begin based on ongoing reviews of public health conditions worldwide and in the ports we are planning to visit.

While the COVID-19 pandemic creates challenges worldwide, it is especially dangerous in Gaza, where conditions are immeasurably more difficult because of the illegal Israeli blockade; Palestinians there are particularly vulnerable now that the first COVID-19 cases have arrived .

 

The crowded conditions in Gaza, with a stretched healthcare system and extremely limited access to outside medical aid, means that we must keep the Palestinian people of Gaza in mind as we adapt to new realities worldwide.

We join organizations like the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights in Gaza in calling on the international community and the World Health Organization to pressure Israeli authorities to allow entry of medical supplies and equipment necessary for coronavirus testing and treatment.

 

During this exceptionally dangerous period for Palestinians in Gaza, we urge you to support organizations providing on-the-ground services there, such as UNWRA, Rebuilding Alliance, and Middle East Children’s Alliance.