Gaza-bound flotilla less than 620 miles from destination

By Hişam Sabanlıoğlu and Tarek Chouiref

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RABAT, Morocco/ISTANBUL (AA) – A Gaza-bound aid flotilla said Thursday it is now less than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from the Palestinian enclave as it continues its bid to challenge Israel’s long-running blockade.

“We are only 995 km (618 miles) away from Gaza. Our hearts are already there before our ships. We sail with determination to break the siege,” the flotilla’s Maghreb branch declared in a post on the US social media company Facebook.

The update came a day after organizers reported 12 blasts across nine vessels following drone harassment in international waters. The flotilla did not specify who was behind the attacks, while Israel, which has repeatedly warned it would block the mission, has so far stayed silent.

Abdelhaq Benqadi, a representative of the Arab Lawyers Union aboard the mission, said the legal team is preparing to take the matter to the International Criminal Court, accusing Israel of “war crimes at sea.”

Israel, as the occupying power, has a record of intercepting ships headed to Gaza, seizing vessels and deporting activists. Critics describe such actions as piracy.

The flotilla, made up of nearly 50 vessels carrying humanitarian supplies including medical aid, is transporting more than 500 activists from around the world. Organizers say it is the largest such attempt in nearly two decades, with Gaza’s 2.4 million residents enduring an Israeli blockade for 18 years.

UN investigators recently concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, where more than 65,400 people have been killed since October 2023.