Activists plan 200-vessel “Freedom Flotilla” to Gaza in bid to break siege

Middle East Monitor. Feb 27, 2026

Pro-Palestinian activists and civil society organisations have announced plans to launch a large maritime campaign towards the Gaza Strip next month, combining the “Freedom Flotilla” and the “Steadfastness Convoy” in an effort to break the ongoing siege.

Organisers said the initiative will involve approximately 200 vessels scheduled to set sail on 12 April from several Mediterranean ports, including locations in Spain, Italy and Tunisia. The campaign is being coordinated with the participation of around 200 civil society organisations worldwide.

Bülent Yıldırım, head of the Turkish Human Rights and Freedom Foundation (İHH), told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that donations are being collected across Europe, Asia, Africa, Turkey and the Gulf region to fund the purchase of the vessels. He argued that the scale of the convoy would make it difficult for Israel to stop, adding that “there is no other option but the sea”.

READ: Hamas accuses Israel of ignoring mediators amid continued bombardment of Gaza

Organisers expect thousands of participants from roughly 150 countries to take part in the initiative, which has received backing from groups including the Mavi Marmara Freedom Association, the İHH Foundation and the Palestine Support Platform.

According to organisers, the mission will extend beyond humanitarian aid delivery. The flotilla is also expected to transport healthcare workers, teachers, infrastructure and environmental specialists, lawyers and investigators documenting alleged war crimes in Gaza. More than 1,000 doctors, nurses and medical professionals are anticipated to join the convoy.

Yıldırım said the campaign was prompted by what organisers describe as severe restrictions on aid entering Gaza, alleging that humanitarian supplies are being obstructed and that residents are facing worsening hunger and disease amid the ongoing crisis.

The humanitarian organization Freedom Flotilla Coalition is in Catania from where the ship Madleen will depart on its mission to break the siege on Gaza, in Catania, Italy on June 01, 2025. [Salvatore Allegra – Anadolu Agency]

Israelis conduct ‘safari tours’ of shackled Palestinian detainees followed by Torah lessons, lunch

At every turn, the behaviour of the average Israeli Jew has consistently reinforced the belief that the genocidal actions of the Israeli military are a mere expression of the popular Jewish will.

PALESTINE WILL BE FREE

FEB 24, 2026

A group of religious Jews from a synagogue in the illegal Har Homa settlement in occupied Jerusalem were taken on a “safari tour” of shackled and brutalised Palestinian detainees inside one of the highest security prisons so they could amuse themselves at the expense of the helpless Palestinians. The amusement trip was followed by Torah lessons and topped off with an elaborate lunch. The trip was organised by none other than the Commissioner of the Israel Prison Service, Chief Warden Kobi Yaakobi, himself a longtime regular worshipper at the synagogue.

“On the morning of the tour, a bus on behalf of the Israel Prison Service arrived in the Har Homa neighbourhood, collected about twenty synagogue worshippers — including the synagogue’s rabbi — and continued on to Nitzan Prison near Ramla,” Israeli outlet Shomrim reported on Sunday.

It continued:

The visit began with a tour of the prison’s various criminal wings, during which the worshippers also saw inmates. The peak of the visit came shortly afterward, when the group was taken into the country’s most secure security wing, where Nukhba terrorists arrested after the October 7 massacre are being held. Those present on the tour said the detainees were shown to them lying on the floor in shackles. A source in the Prison Service said that this is how the detainees are held when operational activity is taking place in the wing.

Having feasted their eyes on the inhumane suffering of the Palestinians in one of their most notorious dungeons, the religious Jews had their queries answered in a Q&A held at the facility before being treated to a generous lunch spread.

The worshippers had questions, which were answered by the prison staff, after which they continued to a lunch specially arranged for them at the prison. In conversations held afterward, the worshippers expressed admiration for the generous hospitality, which, according to them, was reflected in the lunch.

Read the article here.

Israel sent boxes to Gaza containing Palestinians 'skulls, women's bodies'

Independent MP and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has shared a harrowing account from the director of Al-Shifa Hospital in besieged Gaza, detailing the delivery of dozens of boxes containing the skulls and mutilated remains of Palestinians.

Corbyn described a message he received from Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya, who reported that the Israeli military had delivered approximately 66 boxes of human remains to the facility.

According to Corbyn, hospital staff opened the containers to find the skulls of Palestinians killed during the genocide.

Furthermore, Corbyn stated that the delivery included the bodies of dead women whose remains showed evidence of surgical openings, leading to allegations that internal organs had been removed.

"It is hard to describe this," Corbyn added.

"That is what is happening to the people of Palestine. This is the cause of our age."

Mutilation and 'Organ Harvesting'

Gaza's Health Ministry has confirmed the handover of dozens of unidentified bodies and remains via the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Medical officials at the scene reported that some of the remains showed "anomalous characteristics," including surgical incisions that suggested organs may have been harvested before the bodies were returned.

Dr Abu Salmiya, who has himself previously been detained by Israeli forces, reported that many of the remains were unrecognisable, consisting only of bones and skulls.

READ THE ARTICLE HERE.