Activists prepare to set sail from Turkey on mission to deliver 5,000 tonnes of aid to besieged coastal enclave

A humanitarian flotilla organised by a coalition of activists is preparing to set sail from Turkey to deliver aid to Gaza.

The Freedom Flotilla, a coalition of 12 human rights groups, is aiming to sail on Friday from Tuzla port, near Istanbul, and deliver more than 5,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

“We have completed all technical and crewing requirements in order to launch the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza on Friday,” the group said.

Organisers have not specified the route they will take to reach Gaza, or how they plan to bypass Israel’s military, which controls the enclave’s land and sea borders.

“We will be going from international waters into Gaza’s territorial waters. We are not entering Israel’s waters and the people of Gaza want us there,” said Huwaida Arraf, a Palestinian-American lawyer who helped organise the operation.

The flotilla will comprise three vessels, an official from the group told The National – a cargo ship, a cruise ship, and another smaller boat. About 800 people, including crew, activists and observers, will be on board.

There is apparent disagreement over whether the flotilla requires permission from Turkish authorities to leave the country. The vessels’ departure, initially scheduled earlier this month, has been delayed at least once.

“We are working diligently to move our boats to a port in Istanbul where the paperwork procedures for hundreds of participants can be completed, to allow for boarding beginning on Friday morning,” Freedom Flotilla said.

Activists involved in the campaign have said that, according to international law, their delivery of aid should not face obstacles from any government.

Turkish officials have remained silent about the mission and did not reply to requests for comment from The National.

Ankara’s hesitancy to vocally back the aid flotilla, and to state a position on what permission activists need to obtain before sailing to Gaza from Turkey, may be rooted in previous events.

In 2010, nine Turkish citizens were killed when Israeli marines stormed a similar flotilla attempting to deliver aid to Gaza, igniting a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

While Turkish-Israeli relations were later repaired, they have soured once again as a

The flotilla’s departure has been delayed at least once amid confusion over whether Ankara has to approve the operation

result of the war in Gaza. Although Turkey has restricted some exports, Israel remains a vital trade partner of Ankara, which is struggling with a years-long economic crisis and a weakening currency.

The Freedom Flotilla campaign comes amid efforts by governments and aid organisations around the world to find new routes to get aid into Gaza, with land deliveries experiencing chronic delays.

The US military is building a floating pier to ease aid distribution to the enclave, while several countries, including the UAE, have joined a Jordanian-led initiative to drop supplies into Gaza from planes.

The Israeli military “will allow the entry of all humanitarian aid as it comes in every day from the air and crossings, as well the port of Ashdod”, its representative told The National.

“Any other action will constitute a provocation that does not serve the entry of humanitarian aid.”