Two Flotillas-One Mission; Second Wave of Flotillas are Heading for Gaza Now
US Army Colonel (Ret) Ann Wright
In the past three months, citizens around the world have participated in dramatic challenges to the horrific Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza with over 66,000 known dead and at least a hundred thousand souls under the rubble, most of whom are women and children.
The genocide includes the destruction of virtually all food and food distribution systems, hospitals and clinics, schools and universities, water and sanitation facilities and a huge amount of the housing for 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza.
Ships from the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition
For the past 18 years, the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition has used ships to attempt to carry citizens from all over the world to Gaza in a non-violent challenge to the genocidal violence of the Israeli government and the illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.
In the past five months, since May 2025, the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) has launched four missions. In May 2025, the FFC attempted to launch the Conscience ship in Malta, but the Israeli forces bombed the vessel hours before participants were to board the ship. In June 2025 the FFC sent the Madleen sailboat with 12 persons onboard that were arrested and kidnapped in international waters, imprisoned and deported. In July 2025, the FFC launched the motor vessel Handala with 22 persons onboard. They too were arrested and kidnapped in international waters, imprisoned and deported.
In August 2025, the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition was joined in its mission of challenging the increasing Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and the illegal Israeli naval and land blockade of Gaza by the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF).
Ships from the Global Sumud Flotilla Intercepted by IOF
On August 31, 2025, the Global Sumud Flotilla launched 22 boats from Barcelona and were joined by about 10 boats from Tunisia, where two boats were hit by incendiary devices dropped from drones, 14 boats from Italy and 6 boats from Greece for a total of around 50 ships challenging the illegal naval blockade of Gaza. The GSF had participants from 47 countries.
After sailing almost one month with delays due to weather and mechanical issues of the boats, the Global Sumud Flotilla was intercepted in the early morning hours of October 2, 2025. One vessel, the Mikeno, was able to enter the territorial waters of Gaza, the first boat to do so since 2008 when the Free Gaza Movement sailed 5 boats into Gaza. 462 participants on 39 boats were arrested and kidnapped in international waters, imprisoned and as of this writing, are awaiting deportation.
The first groups of the 462 persons from the Global Sumud Flotilla who were arrested, taken hostage and then deported were four members of the Italian Parliament on October 3.
The second group of 137 persons from GSF were flown in a Turkish flight to Istanbul in the late afternoon of October 4, including 36 from Turkiye and 101 from other countries: Italy-26, Malaysia-23, Tunisia-10, Switzerland-9, UK-9, Libya-7, Algeria-6, Morocco-4, Kuwait-4, Jordan-2, Bahrain-1, Mauritania-1 and the US-1.
Second Flotilla Wave: Conscience and 1000 Madleen sailboats are Sailing Now
As the Global Sumud Flotilla was sailing to Gaza, in late September 2025, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition launched a second wave of flotilla ships to challenge the Israeli genocide of Gaza and to break the illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.
The Conscience, which had been repaired from the May 2025 bombing off Malta, left from Otranto, Italy on September 30, 2025 with a mission of bringing medical personnel and journalists to Gaza. The Conscience has onboard 92 participants from 22 countries. The countries represented on the Conscience are: Algeria (1), Australia (1), Azerbaijan (2), Bangladesh (1), Belgium(4), Canada(6), Denmark (3), Finland (1), France( 7), Germany (6), Iceland (1), Ireland (3) * (one is Irish/Jordanian), Israel (2), Italy (6), Malaysia (9), New Zealand (1), Norway (2) *(one is Norway/Iranian), Spain (5), Tunisia (1), Turkiye (9), UK (2)* (one is British/Jordanian ), USA (8).
As a part of the second flotilla wave, the new organization Thousand Madleens launched 7 sailboats on September 27 from Catania, Sicily, Italy with a total of 52 participants from 15 countries: Ireland (2), Denmark (4), Malaysia (1), Spain (2), Belgium (4), Germany (1), Switzerland (1), Italy (4), France (25), Greece (1), USA (4), UK (1), South Korea (1). Five sailboats were from the French campaign and two sailboats were from the Danish campaign.
The Italian campaign of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition sailed two sailboats with a total of 12 Italian participants from Otranto, Italy on September 26, 2025.
Support for the Flotillas from Many Governments
The Gaza flotilla initiatives have received support from Foreign Ministers of sixteen countries , the President of Colombia Gustavo Petro, UN experts including the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese, and Members of Parliament in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Turkiye.
Naval vessels dispatched from Italy, Spain and Turkiye to “ensure the safety of their citizens,” retreated as the flotilla reached closer to Gaza. None of the nations stopped the Israeli navy from kidnapping, arresting and imprisoning their citizens in international waters.
Citizens Around the World Demonstrate for Ending the Israeli Genocide of Gaza and for the Gaza Flotillas
The many boats and the kidnapping, arrest and imprisonment of the many participants in the Global Sumud Flotilla have created big mobilizations of citizens all over the world to emphasize how their governments are complicit in the Israeli genocide of Gaza.
The mission of the Conscience and 1000 Madleens will continue citizens spotlighting the continuing Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank.
Track the Conscience and 1000 Madleens
Citizens around the world can track the progress of the Conscience, the 1000 Madleens and the boats from Italy through the FFC tracker.
Stand in Solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza!
Ann Wright served 29 years in the US Army/Army Reserves and retired as a Colonel. She was a US diplomat for 16 years but resigned in 2003 in opposition to the US war on Iraq. She has been part of the steering committee of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition since 2010 and has been on many missions of the FFC and in Israeli prison two times for challenging the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. She was in Malta, Catania, Tunis and Otranto this year 2025 supporting the various boats and flotillas.