2024 Gaza Freedom Flotilla
 2024 Gaza Freedom Flotilla  (NGO, Israeli-Palestinian conflict)   | |
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The 2024 Gaza Freedom Flotilla is a planned international humanitarian relief effort organised by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. It is scheduled to leave from Turkey in April 2024 and bring aid to Gaza amidst the Israel–Hamas War and Gaza Strip famine.[1]
According to its organisers, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition includes the İHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation and many participants are affiliated with the NGO. Fehmi Bülent Yıldırım, the president of IHH, stated in a press briefing that the convoy, with ships from Turkey, Lebanon, and Libya, plans to initially dock at the Egyptian city of Arish before heading to Rafah. The Israeli website Ynet reported that the initiative had received the green light from Turkish authorities, with Turkey's intelligence chief involved in its arrangement.
In mid-April, activists from the United States and Europe travelled to Turkey with plans to join the flotilla. On 17 April 2024, Irishman John Hurson posted on X:
"Tomorrow I will fly to Istanbul and join the @GazaFFlotilla in order to take part in their mission to deliver 5,500 tonnes of aid to Gaza
"Cargo ships and a passenger ship filled with hundreds of people from across the world will set sail on Sunday.
"Stay tuned for updates."[2]
Yvonne Ridley added:
"So, me and my Irish pal from Viva Palestina, @JJHurson, are off on our travels sailing in to Gaza & we've been told to get some life insurance."[3]
The departure of the flotilla was repeatedly delayed; it had been scheduled to leave on 26 April.[4] Organisers said that the flotilla could not depart that day because Israel was pressuring Guinea-Bissau to withdraw the flag from the "Akdeniz", the lead ship in the flotilla with some 500 activists on board, and also stated that the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany were trying to pressure Turkey into not allowing the ship to depart.[5]
Related Document
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:The Curious Case of the Freedom Flotilla | blog post | 28 April 2024 | Craig Murray | Craig Murray: "I am therefore entirely perplexed that the organisers went with Guinea Bissau as the flag state rather than a state likely to stand up to Israel and the US. Of course it failed. Is the problem incompetence, or is it again security service influence?" |
References
- ↑ "Gaza Freedom Flotilla has been suspended"
- ↑ "Tomorrow I will fly to Istanbul and join the Gaza Freedom Flotilla"
- ↑ "So, me and my Irish pal from Viva Palestina, John Hurson, are off on our travels sailing in to Gaza & we've been told to get some life insurance"
- ↑ "Israeli pressure delayed Freedom Flotilla’s departure for Gaza: Organisers"
- ↑ "Preparations are ongoing, and we will inform the public about the departure date in the very near future."
