KUALA LUMPUR: The Israeli Foreign Ministry’s recent call for flotilla vessels to “dock and transfer” humanitarian aid through Ashkelon Port in Israel cannot be deemed as a neutral logistical request, says the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF).
In a statement on Tuesday (Sept 23), the GSF said the move was part of a long-standing pattern of Israel’s deliberate obstruction of aid to Gaza and its attempts to delegitimise those who challenge its unlawful blockade.
“Since May 2025, after lifting its ‘total blockade’, Israel has only permitted an average of 70 trucks per day into Gaza. The UN (United Nations) agencies estimate that between 500 and 600 trucks are required daily to meet basic needs,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.
The GSF said Israel’s record of intercepting vessels, blocking convoys and restricting routes showed that its intent was not to facilitate relief but to control, delay and deny it.
It added that Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch had both condemned these practices as violations of international law and dangerous obstructions of impartial humanitarian assistance.
“Israel’s rhetoric against the GSF sets the stage for further escalation. Painting a peaceful humanitarian mission as a ‘breach of the law’ is a pretext for violence against civilians acting lawfully to deliver aid.
“Amnesty has already warned that such threats ‘flout international law’ and place lives at risk,” the statement said.
It also stressed that the international community must not treat these demands as benign operational instructions, describing them as a continuation of a blockade that independent UN investigators had called a form of collective punishment and part of the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The GSF called on governments, UN agencies and humanitarian organisations to ensure safe passage and protection for aid workers, medical facilities and civilians; uphold international humanitarian law by rejecting Israel’s unlawful siege and supporting efforts that directly delivered aid to Gaza’s population; as well as to act decisively to end the ongoing genocide.
“Anything less risks entrenching a system of forced starvation, deprivation and collective punishment that is costing thousands of Palestinian lives,” it added.
The GSF journey across the Mediterranean Sea, carrying food, medicine, and a message of peace, is scheduled to arrive in Gaza waters by the end of this month. It brings together an international coalition from Europe, Asia, South Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.
It is hoped that the GSF peace journey can attract the attention of governments worldwide to pressure Israel to stop the genocide against Gaza and allow humanitarian aid to enter. – Bernama
