Dozens of ships are currently on their way to Gaza with the stated purpose of breaking Israel's blockade and establishing a humanitarian corridor to the war- and famine-stricken area.
Among the hundreds of participants in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) initiative are, in addition to Greta Thunberg, also Member of Parliament Lorena Delgado Varas, who recently left The Left Party, and the French-Palestinian EU parliamentarian Rima Hassan.
From Israel's side, it is claimed on Thursday evening that the flotilla is linked to terrorism.
"This is not humanitarian. It is a jihad initiative that serves the agenda of the terrorist group (Hamas)", writes the Israeli Foreign Ministry in a post on X.
The allegations come after some of the representatives of GSF's steering group have been seen in pictures together with representatives of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), all of which are classified as terrorist organizations by the US and EU.
Anders Persson, political scientist at Linnaeus University with a focus on the Israel-Palestine conflict, commented in an interview with TT on the pictures as follows:
This type of picture gives nourishment to Israel's allegations.
The meetings took place in countries such as Algeria and Lebanon, where many more people see Hamas and similar movements as legitimate actors.
Earlier in September, Global Sumud Flotilla stated that their ships were attacked for two consecutive nights by what is suspected to be drones.
On May 31, 2010, six ships were on their way to Gaza with supplies. The Freedom Flotilla convoy, which the Swedish association Ship to Gaza also participated in, was boarded by the Israeli navy in international waters. Nine activists were killed on board. Another later died from their injuries.
In October 2012, the Swedish ship "Estelle" was boarded by Israeli military and towed to the port city of Ashdod. Several Swedish activists were arrested, but later released. Also in the summer of 2015, a Swedish ship was boarded and several Swedes were arrested.
During a convoy in the summer of 2018, Israel first boarded a ship with a few Swedes on board. A few days later, a Swedish ship that was part of the convoy was boarded. Several people were arrested, but later released.
In early May 2025, Freedom Flotilla made an attempt to sail to Gaza. Then the people on board alerted that the boat was being attacked by drones. In video clips from the organization that TT has taken part in, you can see how something hits the front of the boat. A loud bang is heard, after which a fire breaks out. The movement announced that it caused a "considerable hole in the hull", but no one was injured.
In June of the same year, the organization made a new attempt to get to Gaza, with Greta Thunberg on board, among others. However, the ship Madleen was boarded by Israeli military when it approached the Gaza Strip. The boarding was seen as a violation of international law since the ship was in international waters. The crew was taken away and later deported by air from Israel.
