Gaza flotilla returns: Anti-Israel activists plan major maritime push in March

Anti-Israel activists announced on Thursday that they plan to launch a new Gaza flotilla in March. The flotilla reportedly plans to include some 100 vessels that will sail from ports in Spain, Italy and Tunisia. 

Mandla Mandela, a South African parliamentarian and grandson of Nelson Mandela who is participating in the flotilla, expressed hope that thousands of people around the world would join the effort.

“This time around, we expect hundreds and thousands to sign up and to mobilize entry through Egypt, through Lebanon, through Jordan and every other border that is feasible for us to get into occupied Palestine and to Gaza,” Mandela stated at the Global Sumud Flotilla in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“We want to mobilize the entire global community to join forces with us,” he added. Some 1000 activists, medical doctors, engineers and “war crimes investigators” are expected to join the upcoming flotilla. 

The activists urged the international community to prevent Israel from blocking their effort to reach Gaza, which is under an internationally legal blockade due to Hamas' illegal smuggling of weapons into the coastal enclave. 

“We may not have reached Gaza physically [but] we have reached… the people in Gaza,” the anti-Israel activist Susan Abdallah said. “They know that we care, that we will not stop at anything until we actually break the siege."

Brazilian activist Thiago Avila said that the anti-Israel flotilla is protected by international law. 

“The International Court of Justice, in the provisional ruling in the case opened by South Africa against the genocide state of Israel, states very clearly that Israel or any other nation are prohibited to hinder any type of humanitarian mission on the way to Gaza,” he said. 

In October 2025, Israel intercepted a large Gaza flotilla, a move which was criticized by several countries, including Spain, Belgium and Turkey. 

“The manner in which they were boarded and the location in international waters are unacceptable,” Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said.

By contrast, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blasted the anti-Israel activists, arguing that the flotilla “brings no benefit to the Palestinian people.”

Israeli officials have dismissed the Gaza flotillas as anti-Israel publicity stunts and stressed that the vessels contained very little aid to the residents of Gaza. 

Last July, the Israeli Navy intercepted a Gaza flotilla vessel attempting to enter Gaza illegally. 

“The Israeli navy has stopped the vessel Navarn from illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in an official statement. “The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe."

“Unauthorized attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts,” it added.

Israeli authorities subsequently deported 21 activists in July, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. In October, Israel intercepted approximately 50 vessels and deported around 500 anti-Israel activists, including Thunberg, who had rejoined the flotilla efforts.

In December 2025, Thunberg was arrested in London after she publicly supported Palestine Action Prisoners, a violent anti-Israel extremist group.

“The UK Government assesses that Palestine Action commits and participates in acts of terrorism. In several attacks, Palestine Action has committed acts of serious damage to property with the aim of progressing its political cause and influencing the Government,” the British Terrorism Act stated.