By Sue Harris
September 24, 2025

As organizers of solidarity flotillas to Palestine customarily do, the organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla currently sailing to Gaza have publicized a Sumud Flotilla Tracker on their website. (globalsumudflotilla.org/tracker/) It shows the number of boats, their names, the countries with delegations on board and the trajectory of their voyage through the Mediterranean, making it easy to predict where they will be at any given moment.

This tracker also lists how many times the crews have been attacked — twice so far, with little consequence, except to make them more united and steadfast in their goal.

“The boats were sent off by massive crowds,” said Ayoub Habraoui, from the Moroccan Workers’ Democratic Way party and the International People’s Assembly. He reported that “people poured into the port despite the late hour of departure, reaffirming their solidarity with Palestinians and the flotilla’s mission.” (Peoples Dispatch, Sept. 17)

In Italy, thousands of supporters demonstrated in multiple cities, including Naples and Rome, pledging to bring the country to a halt if Israel assaults or blocks the flotilla. The union federation Unione Sindacale di Base has announced a general strike for Monday, Sept. 22, in support of the mission.

The left party Potere al Popolo confirmed it will join strike activities, stating that thousands would “block the country” and, on Oct. 4, march in Rome “to support Palestinian realities in Italy to break Italy’s complicity with genocide, alongside the legitimate resistance of the Palestinian people.” (Al Jazeera, Sept. 21)

The flotilla is now sailing into the “yellow zone,” moving ever closer to Gaza. Having been accused of being “Hamas terrorists” by Israel, the volunteers go through drills to practice nonviolent reactions to potential boarding by Israeli troops in order to minimize violence.

It is uncertain what to expect as the 50 boats draw ever closer. In 2010, Israeli commandos killed nine activists on the Turkish NGO-owned Mavi Marmara, the lead ship in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, in international waters.  Many subsequent attempts to bring material aid to Gaza have ended in the imprisonment, beatings and deportation of participants.

However, Mahmoud Od, a commentator on YouTube, theorizes a more hopeful possibility. He points out that Egypt and Türkiye, which both have large, powerful navies, announced on Sept. 19 a joint drill in the Eastern Mediterranean that will occur from Sept. 22 to 26. This puts their exercise in the path of the Sumud Flotilla.

It is possible that in response to comments about a Greater Israel, and other arrogant behavior, some of Israel’s former “allies” have begun to reconsider where their interests lie and will be in a position to defend the flotilla if need be.

However, this is just speculation. The world will soon see what happens as the Sumud Flotilla sails into the Red Zone closer to Gaza.