The organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla on Friday condemned Israeli claims that their mission to help Gaza was carrying little or no humanitarian aid, calling those allegations “verifiably false.”
In a statement, the flotilla said that its ships were “carefully documented, loaded with medical supplies, food, and other goods that save the lives of people in Gaza whom Israel is systematically starving.”
It was added that journalists, human rights observers, parliamentarians, and humanitarian groups had already confirmed the presence of aid on the ship.
“Israeli denial is nothing more than yet another entry in the long record of lies,” the statement said, calling on international media to stop amplifying official Israeli claims.
The flotilla emphasized that its mission had always been clear: to break the blockade of Gaza and establish a humanitarian corridor for the sustainable delivery of aid.
They admitted that although the supplies on board were limited, they were also “real because they were urgently needed and representative because civilian ships cannot transport the full amount of aid that Gaza needs, which only becomes possible after the blockade is lifted.”
The flotilla accused Israel of conducting a “systematic smear campaign” to delegitimize efforts aimed at respecting international law, while at the same time trying to conceal evidence of its own violations.
The statement pointed to a pattern of disinformation, noting Israeli denials of the bombing of hospitals, the starving of civilians, obstruction of convoys, and executions of humanitarian workers – all of which have since been documented by United Nations (UN)agencies, human rights organizations, and journalists.
“Repeating Israeli lies today means being complicit in covering up genocide,” the flotilla said, warning that the media is under no obligation to amplify propaganda that has already been disproven “at the cost of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian lives.”
“The facts are clear: the flotilla was carrying humanitarian aid, Gaza is being deliberately starved, and Israel is committing genocide. It is the duty of the international community to stop spreading Israeli lies and start acting to end the blockade, famine, and genocide.”
Earlier, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a post on social media X claimed that there was no aid on the flotilla’s ships.
Israeli naval forces attacked and seized the vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla on Thursday and detained more than 470 activists from more than 50 countries. The flotilla was attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s blockade of the enclave.
Israel has maintained the blockade of Gaza, where almost 2.4 million people live, for nearly 18 years.
Since October 2023, nearly 66.300 Palestinians in the enclave, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, rendering it almost uninhabitable, while the blockade has also pushed Gaza into a state of famine, with shortages of medicine and medical equipment.
