The Gaza Flotilla sails again after being intercepted by Israel

BarcelonaThe Gaza Flotilla sails again. Several boats set sail this Friday from Crete after a week ago about twenty ships were assaulted by Israel in international waters. The civil humanitarian mission thus resumes its course to Gaza. The next stop will be Turkey, where it will make a technical stop and more boats will join. It is expected that a total of more than 30 ships will sail.

"Despite the illegal kidnapping of our companions, the psychological warfare of the occupation and the threatening presence of military surveillance and aggression, the fleet remains intact and the objective remains the same", states the organization in a statement in which it once again makes clear its defense of freedom and fundamental rights.

In this new stage of the mission, the organizers explain that next Tuesday they will give more details in a press conference about the next steps of the initiative. "We will present plans to hold the Israeli regime responsible for its acts of piracy, hijacking in international waters, and abuses committed in European waters," they detail.

After heading to a port in Crete once Israel intercepted part of the expedition, the Greenpeace crew, one of the organizations that are part of the initiative, has carried out more than 50 technical operations to ensure that some engine failures and electrical interruptions do not pose an obstacle to the mission.

Alert for possible torture

During the assault, part of the crew was detained, and Israel still holds two of the initiative's leaders captive, the Catalan-Palestinian Saif Abukeshek and the Brazilian Thiago Ávila. The court of the Israeli city of Ashkelon, where they are being held, extended their detention until this Sunday on Tuesday.

Abukeshek and Ávila, accused of terrorism, have been on a hunger strike since their arrest. Both have reported mistreatment in prison. From Madrid, Abukeshek's wife spoke publicly about "torture" and reported that Israel was not allowing her to speak with her husband. According to members of the ship from the Flotilla on which he was traveling, before being transferred to prison and once the vessel was intercepted, Abukeshek's companions heard shouts throughout the entire journey to Greece, a journey during which they were separated from the spokesperson within the same boat.