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Legal Cases Against Israeli Attacks on Civilian Boats to Break the Illegal Israeli Blockade of Gaza

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Gaza harbor with monument to those killed on the Mavi Marmara

Blockaded Gaza Harbor with Monument to 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla and the ten killed by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara

gaza-city-harbor-seaport-boats-fishing-nets-heth8c

Fishing Boats in Blockaded Gaza Harbor.  Israeli commandos attack fishing boats going more than 3 miles from the coast to fish.

Fishing boats are seen at Gaza Seaport in Gaza City

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.

2027—Gaza Flotillas Will Continue to Sail until Palestine is Free

For the past 18 years, the various Gaza flotillas have sailed to bring worldwide attention to the criminal, illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. 

Despite ever increasing violence by the Israeli government on the flotillas and other Palestine solidarity groups, we will continue to sail until the genocide, ethnic cleansing and naval blockade of Gaza ends and Palestine is Free!!!

The FFC’s member organizations include and can be contacted in these links:

2027- Kate/Tenacity, Handala 2 and Many More Boats

The Kate/Tenacity will sail to Gaza in the Spring of 2027. 

She will be joined by the Handala 2 that will sail from Scandinavia to Sicily in the early Spring 2027 making stops in ports along the route for community events for Palestine as did the Kate in the Autumn of 2026.

We anticipate other boats from other flotilla campaigns will also be a part of the 2027 Gaza flotilla.

2026 – Kate/Tenacity

Photo of the Kate/Tenacity departing from Bristo, UK, on August 18, 2026 taken by FFC supporters

The history of the flotillas since 2023, brings us to October 2026 and the arrival in Sicily of the latest Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship, Kate/Tenacity, preparing for the next mission to Gaza to bring attention to the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

After several community events, the Kate left Bristol, UK on August 17 and made important community engagement stops in Kinsale, Ireland (August 19-23); Brest, France (August 25-September 1); Bilboa, Vigo, Velez-Malaga and a series of technical and unscheduled stops in Santander, Asturias and Cartegena, Spain and Gibraltar (September 5- October 4);

and Cagliari, Sardinia (October 11). 

Kate/Tenacity arrived in Augusta, Sicily on October 14, 2026 with 12 crew and participants.

Due to the onset of dangerous winter conditions in the Mediterranean, Kate/Tenacity will winter-over in Sicily until its mission to Gaza in Spring 2027.

2026- Handala 2

Handala 2 photo taken by Boats to Gaza Sweden

The three Freedom Flotilla Coalition campaigns in Scandinavia purchased and outfitted a fishing trawler that was named Handala 2.  Handala 2 sailed from May to August 2026 in the three Scandinavian countries making numerous stops for community events, Ship to Gaza-Norway, Ship to Gaza–Sweden and Ship to Gaza -Denmark. 

After having some damage to the vessel, Handala 2 was repaired and will winter-over in Denmark. Handala 2 will sail to the Mediterranean and join the FFC ship Kate/Tenacity for the mission to Gaza in Spring, 2027

2026- Freedom Flotilla Coalition and Thousand Madleen Boats Combine with the Global Sumud Flotilla

Global Sumud Flotilla sailed 39 boats from Barcelona on April 15, 2026 stopping briefly in Augusta, Sicily.  After departing Sicily on April 26, 2026, with 56 vessels, as the GSF flotilla arrived off the southwestern coast of the Greek island of Crete, the Israeli military attacked the flotilla April 29-20, 2026, 600 kilometers from Gaza, in international waters, disabling 21 boats that flew the flags of Poland, Italy, Spain, Slovenia and France, all European Union (EU)  member states. Unfortunately, due to extreme political pressure from the Zionist lobbies in each of the countries and the pressure from Israeli’s protector, the United States, the EU states did not protest the illegal, criminal actions of piracy of the state of Israel on vessels flagged in their countries.

The Israeli military kidnapped 181 participants from the 21 boats, abusing the participants on a cargo “prison” ship, the INS Nahshon, a US-made ship converted into a makeshift floating prison. For 30 hours on the prison ship, the participants were denied adequate food and water, no access to soap or sanitation and IOF soldiers deliberately flooded floors with cold water so no one could sleep on them. One-third of the participants went on a hunger strike in protest of the conditions and the illegal nature of their imprisonment. With the complicity of the Greek government, the participants were dumped on the island of Crete on May 1. 

Of the 53 vessels sailing the previous day (several that left Augusta, Sicily were unable to continue), 31 survived the Israeli attack and reached a small port off the south-eastern part of Crete. Two of the main GSF organizers Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Avila were kidnapped by the State of Israel and taken to an Israeli prison where they were beaten for 10 days before being deported.

Abukeshek was deported by plane to Barcelona, Spain while Avila was dumped at the Israeli border with Egypt in the middle of the night with no money, no phone and no one to meet him.

Thiago’s saga of how he got home to Brazil is remarkable, thanks to the kindness of a stranger, an Egyptian taxi-driver who lent Thiago a phone and trusted that he would be repaid somehow, sometime, for giving a foreigner with a very strange story, a 6 hour taxi ride in the middle of the night from the Israeli border in the Sinai to Cairo!!

On May 8, 2026, the Global Sumud Flotilla fleet that had been off the southeast coast of Crete sailed to Marmaris, Türkiye for resupply and regrouping adding 17 boats from Türkiye to the flotilla.

Over 46 Global Sumud boats left Marmaris, Türkiye on May 14, 2026 and met up with the 5 Freedom Flotilla Coalition boats that sailed from a small Greek port north of Crete.  A storm quickly disabled several boats and they were taken into ports in Türkiye.

SECOND ISRAELI ATTACK ON FLOTILLA SHIPS

50 boats remaining in the combined FFC, GSF and TM flotillas were attacked over a two-day period, May 18-19, 2026.  Participants were kidnapped from their boats and put onto two prison ships where 3 were shot, most brutally beaten and abused.

Once aboard the US-built vessel the prison ship Nahshon, the participants were subjected to a brutal routine that survivors have described as a ritual of “calculated cruelty.” https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/6/7/fifty-two-hours-on-an-israeli-prison-ship

  • Dark Container Processing: Survivors reported being processed “one by one” through darkened shipping containers placed on the deck. Inside, groups of Israeli soldiers waited. One activist, Yassine Benjelloun, described being thrown into the dark space and immediately beaten: “He throws me in a container that is dark, and all of a sudden, I hear, ‘Welcome to Israel.’ And I start getting hit.”
  • Forced Nudity and Sexual Violence: The interrogation method included systemic sexual abuse. According to a press release, “At least 12 sexual assaults have been documented on that vessel alone, including anal rape and forcible penetration by a handgun.” A French medical professional, Meriem Hadjal, stated she was “subjected to torture” in the container, where a soldier allegedly sexually assaulted her.
  • Physical Assault and Tasers: Witnesses reported that soldiers used “rubber bullets fired at close range, tasers to the face and upper body, and stun grenades thrown into groups of detainees.” Specific targeted abuse was noted, such as soldiers assaulting Adrien Berthel of France after noticing he was wearing nail polish, assuming his sexuality made him a target for humiliation.
  • One of the most chilling testimonies came from Verónica Otero, a participant who was number 22 to board the Nahshon. She witnessed the processing of nearly all 180 detainees over three days. She told investigators that “all were in many ways abused, not one single person walking with nothing… There were 36 fractures, many broken ribs, torso, shoulders, and back. People were in agony. People were not breathing.” https://thepostil.com/the-usa-built-israels-torture-boat-the-ins-nahshon/

On the Nishon prison ship, the participants were taken to Israel against their will, abused physically and sexually in the detention center in Ashdod and beaten again and abused in Ktzi’ot prison in the Negev desert. 

All flotilla boats were very badly damaged by Israeli military forces with destruction of engines, sails and hulls of the boats. Some of the boats were sunk by Israeli military forces.  The remaining were set adrift as hazards to navigation which the Israeli military refused to report to maritime authorities and shipping companies in the region. Many of the ships drifted to Cyrus, Greece, Türkiye and Lebanon.  The remains of one boat washed ashore on a Gaza beach, the first flotilla boat or their remains to reach the shores of Gaza since 2008.

430 participants in the flotilla were flown on May 23, 2026 in three Turkish Airline aircraft to Istanbul, Türkiye where they underwent medical exams and treatment and their testimonies about Israeli actions were recorded by Turkish lawyers and police investigators.  Some of the testimonies are a part of a filing against the Israeli government at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Two South Korean participants were deported from Israel and flown from Israel to South Korea. One participant was deported to Egypt, two deported to Jordan and One Israeli citizen was released inside Israel.  422 participants were deported to Istanbul, Türkiye aboard three Turkish Airline flights arranged by the Turkish government.

2026-Freedom Flotilla Coalition Boats in Siracusa, Sicily

Freedom Flotilla Coalition purchased two boats for the 2026 Spring mission. The Adahah came from Rome, Italy and the Perseverance from Corsica.  The two FFC boats met in Siracusa, Sicily with two boats from Thousand Madleens, the Lina and Tenaz.  The four boats departed Sicily for Gaza on May 2, 2026.

The third Thousand Madleens sailboat, Kyriakos X, was already in Greece and met up initially with the remaining GSF flotilla off the south-eastern coast of Crete and then joined the FFC and GSF boats off the coast of Türkiye a week later.

2026- Thousand Madleens flotilla

Earlier in the Spring, 2026, Thousand Madleens had sailed 20 sailboats from Marseille, France, through Naples, Italy to Cetraro, Italy.  After many days of lengthy discussions among the 125 crew and participants primarily concerning the timing of the mission, a difficult decision was reached to not sail the boats onward toward Gaza at that time. 

However, the Captains and crew of three Thousand Madleens sailboats decided to join the FFC mission. Two of the boats, the Lina and Tenaz, met the FFC boats in Siracusa, Sicily and the third boat, Kyriakos X, met FFC boats off Marmaris, Türkiye.

2026- Global Sumud Flotilla,  Freedom Flotilla Coalition and Thousand Madleens Monumental Flotillas

In 2026, as the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza by Israel and the US continued to rise despite a “Ceasefire” that wasn’t followed by Israel, the Global Sumud Flotilla, Freedom Flotilla Coalition and Thousand Madleens organizations mounted a monumental effort to use the flotillas to bring attention to the ongoing Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in West Bank, the deaths and destruction by Israel of southern Lebanon.

2025 – Conscience and Thousand Madleens ships Attacked

Photo by Ann Wright of the Conscience departing Otranto, Italy on September 30, 2025

Photo taken from the Conscience as they met up of several of the Thousand Madleens sailboats after leaving Otranto, Italy.  Photo by Ann Wright of livestream from the Conscience

Close-Up photos from a livestream taken by Ann Wright of 3 of the 8 Thousand Madleens sailboats.

As the Global Sumud Flotilla was organized and left Spain in late August 2025, the Freedom Flotilla coalition also was preparing for another mission to Gaza.

The ship Conscience, that had been bombed by the Israelis on May 1, 2025, had been repaired and the Turkish government had finally given permission for the Conscience to depart Turkish waters.

On September 30, 2025, the Conscience sailed from Otranto, Italy with 92 persons onboard.  The Conscience met up at sea with 8 Thousand Madleens sailboats. This was a huge effort, first from the Mavi Marmara Association’s one year 24-hour struggle to force the Turkish government to release the Conscience, then to get her out of port fast before the Turkish government changed its mind, then to notify the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) Steering Committee that the ship was underway to Italy and let the FFC know that the FFC needed to get lots of participants to sail on the ship and get them to drop what they were doing at home and fly to Italy—fast! 

Everything went into high gear and by September 27, 2025 people were arriving in Otranto, Italy. 92 participants from 21 countries arrived in Otranto, Italy on short notice for training for the Conscience mission.  The Conscience departed Otranto on September 30, 2025 headed to Gaza.

In the summer of 2025, A new organization called “Thousand Madleens” had formed in France. They called their group “Thousand Madleens” in honor of the fisherwoman from Gaza named Madleen and for Madleen sailboat that the FFC had sailed earlier in the year.  The Thousand Madleen sailboats were named: Abd Elkarim Eid (Thaï), Alaa Al‑Najjar (King Julian), Anas Al Sharif (Fouka), Gaza Sunbird (Neruda), Leïla Khaled (Tadzio), Milad (Algol), Soul of My Soul, and Umm Saad (Maiden).

In the night of October 8, the Conscience and the Thousand Madleens sailboats were attacked in international waters by the Israeli military and 143 participants were kidnapped and arrested by the Israeli military in international waters. After being in Israeli prison, on October 10, 2025, 99 participants on the Conscience and Thousand Madleens were deported from Israeli and arrived at the Istanbul airport. On October 12, 44 Conscience and Thousand Madleens participants were deported overland from Israel and arrived in Amman, Jordan from where they flew home.

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