French pro-Palestinian activists from global steadfastness fleet return home

By Esra Taskin

PARİS (AA) - Some of the French activists detained by Israel while attempting to break the blockade on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid have arrived in France.

Rima Hassan, a French Member of the European Parliament of Palestinian origin who took part in the fleet, said at Paris Orly Airport:

"This fleet saw something unprecedented. It shows that citizens around the world are mobilizing in support of the Palestinian cause and, in particular, in reaction to the genocide in Gaza."

Hassan emphasized that the mobilization continues in collaboration with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), adding: “We will have time later to reveal in detail what we experienced in Israeli prisons, but it was a scandal, and there are many details we will share on this matter.”

Highlighting the plight of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, she noted: "During the five days we were detained, we gained a small insight into the conditions faced by the 11,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons."

A total of 161 activists, including French citizens, returned to Athens on Monday on a special flight organized by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Global Steadfastness Fleet, which aimed to break Israel’s blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, approached Gaza waters on the evening of Oct. 1.

The Israeli military attacked the fleet, seizing 42 ships and detaining hundreds of international activists, who were then transferred to Ketziot Prison in southern Israel.

The fleet is the largest collective effort to date to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

- Freedom Flotilla Coalition

FFC, established in 2010, launched dozens of missions aimed at delivering aid and drawing global attention to the humanitarian crisis in the Israel-besieged Gaza Strip.

The new convoy came after Israeli naval forces attacked and seized more than 40 boats sailing to Gaza last week to challenge the Israeli blockade and detained more than 450 activists on board.

Israel, as the occupying power, has previously attacked Gaza-bound ships, seized their cargo, and deported activists on board.

Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million, for nearly 18 years, and further tightened the siege in March when it closed border crossings and blocked food and medicine deliveries, pushing the enclave into famine.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardment has killed nearly 67,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The UN and rights groups have repeatedly warned that the enclave is being rendered uninhabitable, with starvation and disease rapidly spreading.