“This is not just a sea journey, it’s not an adventure, but rather it is a task that is extremely dangerous,” said former Jamaat-i-Islami senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan in an interview with Dawn.com just before he embarked on the Global Sumud Flotilla mission to Gaza. The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), with around 500 participants from over 44 countries, including Pakistan, attempted to break Israel’s siege on Gaza and distribute humanitarian aid to the malnourished and injured civilians suffering from two years of genocide in the enclave at the hands of Israel. Former senator Khan’s words rang true from the very beginning of the mission, when two GSF aid boats were struck by incendiary devices in Tunisian waters. The ‘Family’ and ‘Alma’ boats, which held the steering committee of the aid convoy, were attacked on September 8 and 9. The aid boats were attacked once again on September 23 near Crete; this time, there was international condemnation, with Italy, Spain and Turkiye dispatching warships to aid the boats. T...