Thousands of Tunisians Bid
Farewell to the ‘Steadfastness’ Fleet to Break the Israeli Siege on Gaza
On Wednesday, thousands of Tunisians flocked
to the Sidi Bou Said beach to support the “Steadfastness” fleet,
which is set to sail toward the Gaza Strip, in a major show of solidarity with
the Palestinian people and an effort to break the siege imposed by the Israeli
occupation on the territory.
The fleet comprises dozens of boats carrying
activists from 44 countries, delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. Among them
are Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, Portuguese leftist politician Mariana
Mortágua, and the grandson of Nelson Mandela.
Tunisian civil society activists, members of
parliament, journalists, and artists are participating in the fleet, while a
large crowd on the shore waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans supporting
Gaza and condemning the Israeli occupation and the United States.
According to Reuters, the Tunisian Coast
Guard is patrolling near the fleet to provide protection, as participants
prepare to board the boats and load supplies.
Attack and Determination to
Sail
The fleet was targeted by two drone attacks
over the past two nights, aimed at the main ships in the convoy. Organizers
accuse the Israeli occupation of being behind these attacks in an attempt to
disrupt the mission.
Wael Nawar, one of the fleet organizers,
said: “We will sail toward Gaza despite bad weather and attempts to intimidate
us with drone attacks. We are prepared for all scenarios and will not back
down, as the challenges we face are nothing compared to what our brothers and
sisters in Gaza are enduring.”
The organization of this fleet comes at a
time when Gaza continues to endure the ongoing war of extermination waged by
the Israeli occupation, which has so far resulted in approximately 65,000
deaths, most of them women and children.
Amid bombardments and the destruction of
residential neighborhoods, the occupying authorities prevent the entry of food
and medical supplies, leading to hundreds of deaths from starvation.
(Source: Reuters)
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* للاطلاع على الترجمة الكاملة للخبر باللغة العربية،
اضغط (هنا).
