STORY: :: ‘The story here is about Palestine,’ Thunberg says, shifting the focus from the flotilla mission to the Gaza crisis
:: Barcelona, Spain
:: August 31, 2025
:: Greta Thunberg, Activist
“Slowly, slowly everyday more and more people are waking up and seeing more of the absolute atrocities, the genocide, the mass slaughtering that Israel is committing. The question here today is not why we are sailing. The story is not at all about the mission we are about to embark. The story here is about Palestine, the story here is how people are being deliberately deprived of the very basic means to survive.”
:: Liam Cunningham, Actor
“What sort of world have we slid into? What sort of a human hole have we found ourselves in? // Western governments should have made these boats unnecessary to be making this trip. And the fact that you guys are here and the flotilla is happening is an indication of the world’s failure to uphold international law and humanitarian law and is is a shameful, shameful period in the history of our world.”
The flotilla, involving hundreds of participants from 44 countries, seeks to deliver humanitarian aid and draw attention to the restrictions imposed on Gaza. The flotilla is named ‘Sumud’ which means perseverance in Arabic.
In June, Israeli naval forces boarded and seized a previous flotilla mission carrying Thunberg. Israel dismissed the aid ship as a propaganda stunt in support of Hamas. Israel has imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007.
