Tel Aviv, MINA – Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Facebook that it will not allow ships from the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) to enter the Gaza Strip.
Activists quickly responded with a solidarity slogan: “No more silence. No more siege. Keep speaking about Palestine.”
Israel described the area as a “combat zone” and accused the flotilla, comprising international civil society activists, of being coordinated by Hamas for political purposes.
The ministry said that if the mission’s goal were purely humanitarian, the vessels should dock at Ashkelon Marina in southern Israel, where aid could then be transferred into Gaza under Israeli supervision.
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Flotilla organizers firmly rejected the proposal, arguing that the Ashkelon mechanism is a tool for Israel to maintain control over aid distribution. Humanitarian groups have repeatedly documented that aid routed through Israeli channels is often delayed for months, heavily restricted, or never reaches Gaza’s civilian population.
“Our mission is not just to deliver supplies but to defend the Palestinian people’s right to freedom of movement, dignity, and life without blockade,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement received by MINA on Tuesday. “We sail not to legitimize Israeli control but to challenge it.”
Israel has enforced a naval blockade on Gaza since 2007, citing security concerns and the need to prevent weapons smuggling. The United Nations, however, has repeatedly emphasized that the blockade harms Gaza’s entire civilian population and may constitute collective punishment, which is prohibited under international humanitarian law.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has reported that Israel’s restrictions on goods, medicine, and movement in and out of Gaza are disproportionate and violate the Geneva Conventions. Amnesty International has gone further, labeling the blockade a form of “apartheid” that systematically denies Palestinians their basic rights.
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Currently, more than 50 ships from 44 countries are sailing toward Gaza as part of the GSF mission. They carry hundreds of international activists, including U.S. military veterans, European academics, and volunteers from Asia and Africa. The flotilla has attracted widespread support from global solidarity movements demanding an end to Israel’s naval blockade.
The slogan of defiance “No more silence. No more siege” has echoed in protests across major cities worldwide. For activists, it is more than a moral appeal; it is a political demand that the world must no longer remain silent about a blockade that confines over two million Palestinians to what is often described as “the world’s largest open-air prison.”[]
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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