Freedom Flotilla announces new mission to Gaza in October

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition announced a new international maritime mission to the Gaza Strip, with vessels making stops at European ports before a planned attempt to reach the enclave in October.

“We are sailing again because Israel hasn’t stopped its genocide and because Palestine is still not free,” the coalition said in an appeal for international support.

The mission seeks to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza and mobilize public pressure across Europe, the coalition said in a statement published on Wednesday.

The voyage is already underway, with the coalition’s Handala II vessel having visited ports in Norway, Sweden and Denmark during June and July.

Another vessel, the Kate, departed from the British city of Bristol in August and subsequently made stops in Ireland, Germany and France, according to the statement.

The vessels are expected to visit ports in Spain, Portugal and Italy before continuing toward Gaza, where the coalition plans to arrive in October.

The mission brings together human rights advocates, trade union activists, elected representatives, journalists, medical professionals and other supporters of Palestinian rights, the coalition said.

The coalition said it would work with local communities to pressure governments to block weapons and energy shipments to Israel, end diplomatic and military cooperation with it and impose sanctions.

“The Freedom Flotilla sails again because our governments continue to fail to uphold their obligations,” said Zohar Chamberlain Regev, a member of the coalition’s steering committee.

“At every port, we will carry the demand that Palestinians be free to live with dignity,” she added.

“In October, we intend to carry that demand and the solidarity of people around the world to Gaza’s shores.”

The coalition urged governments to demand safe and unobstructed passage for the flotilla and to make clear that any attack, seizure or detention of its participants would have consequences.

It also called for immediate and unrestricted access to Gaza and an end to Israeli restrictions on the entry of food, water, medicine and other essential supplies.

Read More: Israel's Ben-Gvir plans to relocate 1.86m Palestinians from Gaza over 7 years: report

Governments should defend freedom of navigation and use diplomatic, economic and legal measures to end the blockade, it added.

“We know that sailing toward Gaza carries serious risks,” said Edward Digilio, an engineer from the US state of Maryland participating in the initiative.

“But silence and inaction carry a much greater cost for Palestinians and the world,” he said, describing the mission as “an expression of shared humanity and a refusal to accept the destruction of an entire people as normal.”

The coalition said Israeli forces had attacked and detained hundreds of flotilla participants during an earlier mission in the spring of 2026. It said volunteers reported severe beatings, broken bones, gunshot wounds, repeated tasering and sexual assault while in Israeli custody.

It also recalled Israel’s May 2010 raid on the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara, during which 10 activists were killed.