The Steadfast
Fleet Continues Its Journey to Gaza via Tunisia, Defying the Blockade and
Weather Conditions
The ships of the Global
Steadfast Fleet arrived on Friday at the port of Bizerte in northern Tunisia,
coming from the port of Sidi Bou Said, after overcoming difficult weather
conditions in the Mediterranean Sea. This is part of their journey to the Gaza
Strip to break the Israeli blockade that has been in place for years.
According to media reports,
hundreds of participants from around 50 countries will spend the night near the
port before the convoy continues its journey on Saturday morning toward the
coasts of Gaza, as additional ships from the Maghreb fleet join.
Khaled Boujemaa, a member of the
fleet’s steering committee, explained that about 20 ships sailed on Thursday
from Sidi Bou Said toward Bizerte, while 10 other ships from Spain had arrived
earlier. He added that Saturday could witness a “popular festival to bid
farewell to the fleet if weather conditions improve,” after bad weather caused
several delays in the departure.
The fleet comprises
approximately 36 ships, some still being prepared, with Italian and Spanish
boats joining, as well as an Egyptian ship that received special permission
from Cairo.
Between 500 and 700 activists
from more than 40 countries are participating in the journey, including human
rights advocates and specialists documenting violations of international law.
Accompanying the fleet is an
observation and monitoring boat named after the martyred journalist Shireen Abu
Aqleh, in honor of Palestinian media victims. From Bizerte, another ship named
Fatima Hassouna joins for the same symbolic purpose.
The first ships of the fleet had
sailed from Barcelona, Spain, in late August, followed by another convoy from
the Italian port of Genoa in early September. This marks the first time such a
large number of ships are sailing together toward Gaza, after Israel had
previously intercepted and confiscated individual ships.
This move comes at a time when
the Gaza Strip is facing an unprecedented famine due to Israel’s complete
closure of crossings since March, depriving more than two million Palestinians
of food, medicine, and humanitarian aid. Additionally, the ongoing Israeli
extermination campaign since October 7, 2023, has resulted in more than 64,000
deaths and 163,000 injuries, most of them women and children, alongside
hundreds of civilians dying of starvation.
(Source: Agencies)
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* للاطلاع على الترجمة الكاملة للخبر باللغة
العربية، اضغط (هنا).
