Blockaded Gaza Harbor with Monument to 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla and the ten killed by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara
Fishing Boats in Blockaded Gaza Harbor. Israeli commandos attack fishing boats going more than 3 miles from the coast to fish.
Israeli Blockade of the Tiny Gaza City harbor, the only harbor on the Gaza Coast.
In 2008, human rights defenders began bringing international publicity to the illegal Israeli Blockade of Gaza by attempting to sail unarmed, civilian boats to Gaza. Since 2008 approximately 31 boats have sailed to generate media coverage to the plight of 1.9 million inhabitants of Gaza living in the small coastal area 25 miles long and 5 miles wide, one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Israel has attacked Gaza three times in the past 8 years, 2009, 2012 and 2014, killing thousands and leaving hundreds of thousands without homes. Over 200 Palestinians have been killed in 2018 by Israeli snipers and thousands have been wounded during the Great Return March in Gaza each Friday since March 2018. The United Nations says that because of the Israeli land and sea blockade of Gaza, Gaza will become uninhabitable by 2020.
This blog contains information about the legal cases brought against the Israeli government and specific Israeli government officials for the assaults and murders of passengers on unarmed civilian boats that have attempted to break the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza and for the return and/or compensation for the boats that the Israeli government have illegally seized.
The blog also contains a section on the boats and passengers that have sailed to break the blockade beginning with
in August 2008 the Free Gaza Movement boats Liberty and Free Gaza
and the Dignity in October, November and twice in December in 2008 that actually sailed into Gaza;
the Spirit of Humanity in January and July 2009;
the cargo ship Tali from Lebanon in February 2009;
the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla with 7 ships, the Mavi Marmara, the Sfendoni, Challenger 1, cargo ships Free Mediterranean, Dafne Y, Gazze, and Rachel Corrie in May 2010; the Irene Jewish Boat to Gaza in September 2010;
eight boats in the 2011 Gaza Freedom Flotilla 2 that were prevented from sailing by the Greek government, the Audacity of Hope, Tahrir, Saoirse, Gernika, Julianno, Stefano Chairini, Louise Michel and Eleftheri Mesogeios ;
Dignité Al Karama in July 2011;
the Tahrir and Saoirse in November 2011;
the Estelle in 2012;
the Marianne, Rachel, Vittorio, Juliano 2 in 2015;
the Women’s Boat to Gaza the Zaytouna-Oliva in September 2016
and the Al Awda and Freedom in July-August 2018, with two other boats, Filestine and Mairead Maguire.
In the summer of 2018, two small boats calling themselves the Palestine Flotilla attempted to sail FROM Gaza to Cyprus taking injured persons for medical treatment. They were stopped by the IOF. The Al-Hurriyah (Liberty) sailed on May 29 and another boat sailed on July 10.
The 2020 Gaza Freedom Flotilla was postponed due to the COVID pandemic.
Working with Miles of Smiles, Gaza Freedom Flotilla coalition members purchased an ambulance for Gaza after the 2021 11 day Israeli attack on Gaza.
In 2023, the Handala ship sailed in Northern Europe making Palestine solidarity ports visits in Norway, Scotland, Wales, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden.
In 2024, the Handala sailed from Norway into the Mediterranean with port stops in Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, France, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Malta.
A second set of three ships in the 2024 flotilla was to set sail from Turkiye in late April, but due to pressure from Israel and the U.S., the country of Guinea Bissau deflagged two of the ships. As of late July 2024, none of these ships have been able to sail with the Freedom Flotilla.
