Category World News

The Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza: Everything you need to know

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As part of an international maritime initiative aimed at distributing humanitarian aid to Gaza’s starving population, a global fleet of boats is gearing up to sail for the region.

The first convoy, which will arrive in Tunisia on September 4 and consists of dozens of small civilian vessels carrying activists, doctors, nurses, seafarers, and humanitarian supplies, is scheduled to leave from Spanish ports on August 31.

More than 50 ships and delegations from at least 44 nations are gathered together for the Global Sumud Flotilla, according to organizers, making it the largest maritime mission to Gaza.

Which nations are participating?

As part of the largest maritime mission to end Israel’s illegal siege, delegations from 44 nations have already agreed to sail to Gaza, according to the Global Sumud Flotilla.

The flotilla will include nations like Australia, Brazil, South Africa, and numerous other European nations from six different continents.

Participants don’t belong to any political party or government, according to the group.

Who are the participating groups?

Four significant coalitions, including those who have previously participated in land and sea missions to Gaza, are organizing this mission:

  • Global Movement to Gaza (GMTG): A grassroots movement organizing global solidarity marches to end the siege of Gaza.
  • Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC): With 15 years of experience operating ships, including ships like the Madleen and Handala, FFC provides practical guidance, hands-on advice, guidance, and operational support for the ongoing efforts to break the Gaza blockade.
  • The Maghreb Sumud Flotilla, formerly known as the Sumud Convoy, is a North African-based initiative that sends solidarity missions to Palestinian communities.
  • Sumud Nusantara, a people-led convoy from Malaysia and eight other nations, aims to end the blockade in Gaza and foster global South solidarity.

They will collectively form the largest civilian flotilla ever to be coordinated.

Who are the involved parties?

The coalition, which includes organisers, humanitarians, doctors, artists, clergy, lawyers, and sailors, is made up of people who share the same belief as the Global Sumud Flotilla website and who also share a common belief: the siege and genocide must end.

Greta Thunberg, a historian in Sweden, Kleoniki Alexopoulou, a socioscientist and lawyer, Karen Moynihan, a social scientist and activist, Saif Abukeshek, Muhammad Nadir al-Nuri, activist Marouan Ben Guettaia, activist Wael Nawar, activist Hayfa Mansouri, activist and social researcher, and activist Torkia Chaibi are just a few members of the steering committee.

Tens of thousands of people have signed up to take part in the initiative, despite the fact that hundreds will sail from the organized fleet.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg flanked by Thiago Avila from a human rights organization meets with journalists in Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025, ahead of their departure for the Mideast. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
On June 1, 2025, in Catania, Italy, Greta Thunberg, center, and Thiago Avila, right, speak to journalists.

How long will it take the ships to arrive in Gaza and when?

Saif Abukeshek stated in a press briefing from Barcelona’s Placa del Rei that the precise number would be later and that security concerns had prevented the specific ports and ships from being disclosed.

The fleet’s estimated 3, 000 km (1, 620 nautical miles) journey to Gaza will take between seven and eight days, according to the group.

Why do people need to send aid by sea, and what is a flotilla?

A flotilla is a group of ships or boats tasked with delivering essential supplies, including food, medicine, and other goods, to areas in need. When traditional supply routes, such as air and land corridors, are blocked or inaccessible, they are typically organized.

Israel has tight control over Gaza’s airspace and territorial waters since 2007 and has since slowed down movement of people and goods. After Israel bombed and destroyed the Yasser Arafat International Airport in 2001, just three years after it opened, Gaza had no functioning airports.

Humanitarian and grassroots flotillas are typically governed by naval laws and are protected by international organizations.

The Sumud flotilla aims to confront Israel’s blockade head-on and send the message that the siege must end by providing aid by sea.

INTERACTIVE GLOBAL SUMUD FLOTILLA GAZA SIEGE-1756396130

What happened to earlier flotillas?

The blockade of Gaza has been broken by a number of Freedom Flotilla vessels.

The Free Gaza Movement’s first naval blockade breach was completed in 2008 when two boats successfully reached Gaza. Between 2008 and 2016, the movement, which was started by activists during Israel’s occupation of Lebanon, launched 31 boats, five of which reached Gaza despite severe Israeli restrictions.

Israeli flotillas trying to break the Gaza Strip have been intercepted or attacked in international waters since 2010.INTERACTIVE_freedom_flotilla_PREVIOUS_JULY 27_2025 copy-1753599419

Gaza Freedom Flotilla in 2010

The Mavi Marmara was attacked in international waters by Israeli commandos in 2010. Hundreds of people were hurt in the assault, which caused a total outcry. More than 600 passengers and humanitarian aid were on board the ship.

Freedom Flotilla II in 2011

Following the mission’s completion in 2010, Freedom Flotilla II was launched in 2011. It was a coalition of international activists and NGOs’s intended use of Gaza as a humanitarian aid delivery point.

Freedom Flotilla III in 2015

In 2015, international activists made their third major attempt to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. The FFC-managed mission involved a number of vessels, with Marianne of Gothenburg, Sweden’s Marianne, leading the charge.

Israeli interception of Third Gaza Freedom Flotilla
Activists board the ship Thales of Miletus, a ship from the Third Gaza Freedom Flotilla that was forced to leave Ashdod by Israeli forces, to return to Greece.

2018: Palestine’s Just Future

The FFC has been working to challenge Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. The Just Future for Palestine Flotilla, also known as the 2018 Gaza Freedom Flotilla, is a part of this effort.

Break the Siege of “Conscience” in 2025.

Just 14 nautical miles (25 kilometers) off the Malta coast, the Conscience was struck twice by armed drones as it prepared to sail to Gaza on May 2. The 30 Turkish and Azeri activists on board were forced to work so hard to save the ship from the fire that caused a significant breach in the hull.

The Israeli military intercepted 2025-Madleen, which was launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) on June 9 and is located about 185 kilometers (100 nautical miles) offshore Gaza.

An image grab from footage released by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition on June 9, 2025 shows activists on board the Gaza-bound aid boat Madleen, with their hands in the air, as they are being intercepted by the Israeli forces in international waters before reaching the blockaded Palestinian territory.
On June 9, 2025, activists on the Gaza-bound aid boat Madleen are seen holding their hands in the air as they are being illegally boarded by Israeli soldiers [Sosyal Medya/Anadolu] in an image taken from footage released by the FFC.

Indonesia protesters clash with riot police as tensions soar

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In Indonesia, violent clashes between riot police and protesters have erupted, with low-paid residents reportedly receiving low wages from the general public.

After a video of a delivery rider being allegedly run over by an armored police vehicle at a rally last week went viral, causing outrage in several of Southeast Asia’s biggest cities, tensions erupted on Sunday.

At least three people were killed in a fire started by protesters at a council building in eastern Indonesia on Saturday, according to a local official.

Less than a year into his rule, the protests are the largest and most violent of Prabowo Subianto’s presidency, which is a crucial test for the ex-general.

Over the weekend, protesters gathered again in various locations throughout Indonesia’s vast archipelago. In front of Bali, Indonesia’s most well-known tourist hotspot, hundreds of students and “ojek” motorcycle taxi drivers staged a protest.

As social media app TikTok announced it had temporarily suspended its live feature for “a few days” in Indonesia, where it has more than 100 million users, hundreds of students in Surabaya also staged a demonstration outside the East Java police headquarters.

On Friday, hundreds of people gathered outside the headquarters of the elite Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimob), the paramilitary police force they blamed for the death of motorcycle performer Affan Kurniawan the day before in Jakarta.

President Prabowo urged calm and mandated an investigation into the driver’s death, calling on the police to be held accountable.

War in Sudan: Humanitarian, fighting, control developments, August 2025

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The largest humanitarian crisis in history has resulted from the Sudanese armed forces’ (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) paramilitary.

Despite now entering its third year, estimates suggest that tens of thousands of people have lost their lives in combat and thousands more have lost their lives in the war.

This month saw a lot of significant military and political developments. The most significant updates are:

Military and combat control

  • The SAF, which it took from the RSF in March, is regaining control of Khartoum, the capital. In addition to Port Sudan, Sudan’s capital and eastern region, is located in the Red Sea.
  • The RSF is in charge of the Kordofan region and Darfur’s sprawling western region, which are both in the RSF’s hands.
  • El-Fasher, the SAF’s final Darfur garrison, is still under the RSF’s control as it continues to rule the country’s capital. The RSF will be in power over a portion of western Sudan, roughly the size of France, if El-Fasher is toppled.
  • El-Fasher and nearby displacement camps, including the Abu Shouk camp, where 190, 000 people from around Darfur have sought shelter, have seen more attacks from the RSF.
  • According to recent satellite imagery obtained by the Yale Humanitarian Research Hub, it has also constructed enormous sand berms from the north, west, and east around El-Fasher, effectively creating a “kill-box.”
  • By collaborating with a new ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, the RSF is attempting to expand its influence in Kordofan. In February, the two organizations forged a military alliance to combat the SAF.
  • The RSF maintains control of the majority of West and South Kordofan, giving them access to South Sudan cross-borderally with the SPLM-N.
  • El-Obeid, the most important city in North Kordofan, is under the control of SAF, which the RSF is occupying. El-Obeid must be kept by the SAF to prevent the RSF from threatening central Sudan.
[Interactive/Al Jazeera] A map of the areas that the RSF and SAF control in and around the strategic city of El-Obeid, North Kordofan.

Humanitarian crisis

  • According to UNICEF, the RSF has ejected 260, 000 civilians in El-Fasher, including 130, 000 children, making the area an “epicentre of child suffering.”
  • Even this is running out, but the majority of them are surviving on animal fodder known as ambaz, which is the leftover from pressed oil seeds like peanuts, sesame, and sunflowers, to grind into a paste.
  • According to figures released by Relief International and shared with Al Jazeera, about one-third of the children in Mellit, a city close to El-Fasher, are reportedly severely malnourished. That is more than twice the threshold for a malnutrition emergency according to the World Health Organization.
  • According to Adam Rojal, the spokesperson for internally displaced people in Darfur, a cholera outbreak is aggravated by the humanitarian crisis in the vast region of the country. He claimed on August 30 that the water-borne illness had claimed the lives of nine people that day and had infected 143 others, totaling 382 deaths since the epidemic first emerged in June 2025.
  • Due to road closures and bureaucratic obstacles, food convoys from the UN and other nongovernmental organizations rarely arrive in Darfur. Both sides are accused of using food as a weapon by human rights activists and local activists.
  • No food convoys have been dispatched to North Darfur in more than a year, despite the World Food Programme’s declaration to provide electronic cash assistance to the region’s vulnerable population.
  • A drone strike on a UN food convoy hit North Darfur on Friday, the second-aid convoy in three months. The attack was blamed on RSF and SAF, respectively.
  • Due to the RSF’s siege on Dilling and Kadugli, South Kordofan is experiencing a similar hunger emergency.

political and diplomatic developments

  • On August 31 in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo reportedly sworn in as the parallel “Peace government” president. A drone strike was carried out on the same day by SAF.
  • According to Sudanese experts and media outlets, SAF Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and a US adviser reportedly met in Switzerland in mid-August to discuss a strategy to end the conflict. The talks have not been confirmed by the US.
  • A week after the secret meeting, al-Burhan retired a number of senior military personnel, some of whom reportedly belong to Sudan’s political Islamist movement, which had been in power for 30 years under former president Omar al-Bashir. According to experts, al-Burhan is being pressured by outside forces to lessen the influence of well-known figures in the al-Bashir government.

India committed to improving ties with China, Modi tells Xi before SCO meet

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Five days after the United States imposed heavy tariffs on Indian goods, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated to Chinese President Xi Jinping that he is committed to enhancing bilateral ties. This indicates a growing kinship with Beijing.

On the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, which kicks off in Tianjin on Sunday, Modi told Xi, “We are committed to progressing our relations based on mutual respect, trust, and sensitivities.”

In a show of global solidarity, Modi, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and other leaders from Asia and the Middle East, is in China for the first time in seven years.

The Indian leader shared a video of his conversation with the Chinese leader on his X account.

Xi also pledged to improve cooperation and resolve border disputes with India. According to state broadcaster CCTV, he stated that he hoped the Tianjin meeting would “further elevate” and “promote the sustained, healthy, and stable development of bilateral relations.”

According to Xi, the two countries should “not let the border issue define the overall China-India relationship,” adding that both countries should put their main interests at risk for economic growth.

China-India relations will flourish and advance steadily as long as they keep their commitment to the overarching goal of being partners, not adversaries, and providing development opportunities, not threats, according to Xi.

“Getting closer to Beijing”

After the US, a long-time ally, imposed 50 percent tariffs on Indian goods on Wednesday over New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, a move that may have accelerated his nation’s ongoing thawing of relations with China.

The days of the US using India as a counterweight against China are over, according to Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu, who is reporting from Tianjin, where the two-day SCO summit is taking place.

Modi claimed at the meeting on Sunday that “peace and stability” had been established on the disputed Himalayan border, which Indian and Chinese troops had clashed with in 2020.

Modi claimed that India and China had come to terms with border management and that direct flights between the two nations, which have been suspended since 2020, were “resuming.”

According to Al Jazeera’s Yu, the deadly clashes had marked a “low point” in relations between the strategic nuclear-armed adversaries, but relations have improved in recent months, with officials “talking and meeting consistently about the border” and other issues.

Both China and India have recently lifted reciprocal tourist visa restrictions, and China has recently allowed Indian pilgrims to visit Buddhist sites in Tibet.

This month, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi made a key&nbsp, visit&nbsp, to&nbsp, to India&nbsp, announcement that it would lift export restrictions on rare earths, fertilisers, and tunnel boring machines.

Chinese Xu Feihong, the country’s ambassador to India, stated this month that his country would “firmly stand” with New Delhi and opposed to Washington’s stringent tariffs on India.

powerful bloc

More than 20 world leaders are present at the SCO summit, including Modi and Putin.

China and Russia have occasionally compared the SCO to the NATO military alliance. The summit is the first since Donald Trump’s White House resumption this year.

According to Dylan Loh, an assistant professor at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, “China has long sought to present the SCO as a non-Western-led power bloc that promotes a new type of international relations, which it claims is more democratic.”

With 16 additional nations collaborating as observers or “dialogue partners,” the SCO, which was established in 2001, includes Belarus, India, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus.

More than three billion people live on the planet’s landmass, or almost a quarter of it, making up SCO members’ total, or almost a quarter of the world’s population.