“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...
As some Western leaders recognise a Palestinian state, Israel seems to have entered panic mode. Tel Aviv has done again what it does best: attacking unarmed civilians. Late on Tuesday night, the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) — a collection of boats carrying humanitarian aid with rights activists, doctors, parliamentarians, journalists and others — was hit by Israeli drones as they entered the final stretch of their journey to Gaza. The aid boats are carrying delegations from over 40 countries, including Pakistan, which aim to distribute vital humanitarian aid such as baby formula, food, water and medicine to the malnourished, forcibly displaced and injured civilians suffering from almost two years of genocide, as classified by the United Nations. A group of ships from the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza are shown moored at the small island of Koufonisi, near the south of the island of Crete, Greece on September 26. — AFP According to a statement issued by the GSF, at least 14 boats were targeted with explosive an...