Five of the Gaza Flotilla's boats turn back: "We encountered waves of three meters."

BarcelonaFive of the small boats that are part of the Global Sumud Flotilla had to turn around again on Monday night due to, they say, "extreme weather conditions" at sea on their second attempt to undertake the journey to Gaza. Their goal is to arrive loaded with humanitarian aid for the victims of the conflict and, despite the obstacles they are encountering—this is the second time they have returned to port due to bad weather—they maintain their intention to dock in Palestinian territory.

"We have encountered waves of three meters," say crew members consulted by the ARA. This has forced, according to the same sources, the smaller boats to turn around. Now, these vessels are correcting some safety defects and reinforcing some points of the ship for departure. They want to leave today, but cannot yet confirm it. While specialists are examining the ships, safety briefings are being given to the crew. They admit that the departure was very complicated and that it is "normal" for vessels of this type to have to turn back in bad weather. At the end of the port, three boats flying the Palestinian flag are flying, and the crew members are waiting seated on the solid ground.

The official departure of the mission was on Sunday, but the group had to return to the port a few hours later due to adverse weather. Finally, they explained that on this first day they had performed "a navigation test" and then returned to the port to wait for the storm that raged at sea on the night of Sunday to Monday. Yesterday, Monday, the vessels they set sail again from Barcelona around 8 p.m. heading for the Gaza Strip, but these five boats had to turn back again for the same reason as the day before.

In the same statement in which it explained the weather difficulties that forced the five boats to turn back, the organization also confirmed this Tuesday morning that all crew members are safe and that the mission continues. "When small civilian boats are forced to do the work that governments have failed to do, sailing to break the siege and end the genocide, challenges like these are common," the Flotilla states in this statement. In the same text, the organization insists that if the "complicit" governments were to send their ships to bring aid to Gaza, that responsibility would not fall on ordinary people.

Despite the obstacles the boats are encountering, the Flotilla organizers clarify that they maintain their intention to sail to Palestinian territory. "We remain steadfast in our commitment to reach Gaza, to join the boats leaving from Tunisia, Greece, and Italy, and to stand united in breaking Israel's illegal blockade with a humanitarian and nonviolent mission," the organizers conclude.