Overview

• More than 20 boats left Barcelona carrying hundreds of volunteers and supplies, with additional vessels already sailing from Genoa and further departures from Sicily, Tunisia and Greece scheduled.
• Delegations from 44 countries are taking part, with high-profile figures including Greta Thunberg, Susan Sarandon, Liam Cunningham and former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau.
• Organizers state the goal is to open a maritime humanitarian corridor to Gaza and confront Israel’s naval blockade imposed since 2007.
• The launch follows the UN’s recent declaration of famine in Gaza, with reports of over 500,000 people facing catastrophic hunger and acute shortages of food and medicine.
• Participants acknowledge the risk of interception after Israel seized previous activist ships in international waters, and some governments have offered consular assistance to nationals on board.