As of the time of writing, all boats from the Somud Flotilla have been intercepted by Israel, their crews kidnapped and now in Israeli custody. I, like many people, fear for their safety. While Israel has returned members of previous flotillas that they intercepted to their home countries, the Somud flotilla was such a massive defiance of Israeli power that I worry that Israel will decide to make an example of these brave and wonderful people, who’s only crime was trying to deliver aid to a people that are starving.
But, what an achievement! More than 50 boats, with delegations from 44 countries. It was the largest civilian flotilla in history!
One of the boats, the Mikeno, actually reached Palestinian waters before being intercepted.
https://www.trtworld.com/article/b4a6713fadc6
I eagerly watched the progress of the Mikeno, hoping it would actually reach the shores of Gaza. But sadly, that was not to be. But an amazing accomplishment all the same to get so close.
What About All Them Warships?
In my previous post:
I talked about how this was the first time ever when any kind of military craft was deployed to help those delivering aid to Gaza. I still maintain that this is a very significant development, that three countries deployed military vehicles to escort the Somud Flotilla.
However, however, however, it’s quite important to be aware of how little this amounted to in the end. The Italian frigate turned around and sailed home long before Israel intercepted the flotilla, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni even urging the flotilla not to proceed with the mission:
https://www.reuters.com/world/italys-navy-quit-gaza-flotilla-risk-israeli-attack-looms-2025-09-30/
And the ship that Spain sent, and the drones that Turkey sent, they turned around too, a long time before the flotilla entered the danger zone.
There’s a lot to unpack here, when I look at it through one eye, it was a whole load of nothing, a few military vehicles were sent to assist the flotilla, all of which turned tail as soon as things got dangerous (this was the plan from the beginning, not a spontaneous decision from the navies or governments of those countries). But when I look at it through the other eye, it’s quite significant. This was the first time during the two year mass slaughter, when any kind of military assistance at all was given to those trying to deliver aid to Gaza. So instead of focusing on the, yes, depressing fact that a fairly empty military assistance was granted to the Somud flotilla, I think we should focus on the fact that, massive strikes in Italy helped pave the way for a military escort of the Somud Flotilla, for part of the journey anyway. If industrial action can get Italy to deploy its navy, even more industrial action can surely get the Italian government to do something that actually helps the people of Gaza. We have seen that the “ordinary” people, the “powerless”, are a mighty force when united. I hope to see a lot more industrial action in the future.
The Rise Of the Pro Palestine Movement In Italy
And there has been more industrial action:
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/italy-unions-block-everything-israel-flotilla-interception
Another massive strike has taken place in Italy, in protest of Israel kidnapping the flotilla members. In fact, it looks like Italy has become an absolute powerhouse of support for Gaza. “Blocchiamo tutto” (“We will block everything”) has become a rallying cry all across Italy.
Francesco Staccioli, of Unione Sindicale di Base (USB), has talked about how things have changed dramatically in Italy over the last two years, stating:
“For two years, the Italian Palestine solidarity movement has been very weak. You would generally get people from leftwing movements attending marches. But this time, something deep within Italian society has shifted, Normal people are starting to participate, they are very angry about what is happening in Gaza, and angry with their government for not doing more to help. We are used to watching people mobilise abroad. Now, this is the first time that I feel they are watching us.”
What did the Somud Flotilla Achieve?
For one thing, it’s drawn attention to the plight of the people of Gaza in ways I’ve never seen before. It’s been talked about, a lot, by people who normally don’t talk much about what’s going on in Gaza. But I think it achieved something else that was equally important. This is the second post I wrote about Gaza, over a year ago:
And I wrote about how, all of the effort of the pro-Palestine movement was worth it, if even one life was saved, or if the genocide was ended by even one minute.
Was one life, or more, saved by the Flotilla? Well, at a cursory glance, no, not one container of baby formula was delivered to Gaza, despite the Mikeno getting so, unbelievably close to the shores of Gaza. But, look at it differently. The IOF has devoted a lot of time to threatening the Flotilla with drone attacks, and that was before boats got anywhere near Palestinian waters, and then, the task of intercepting more than fifty boats, and imprisoning their crews. That’s a lot of resources spent on the Somud Flotilla, that were not spent on committing mass murder against the people of Gaza.
Did the Somud Flotilla save at least one life? We’ll never know how many were saved, but surely, at the very least, at the most pessimistic calculation possible, they surely saved at least one life. And for me, that makes it all worth it.
So what’s next for the Pro-Palestine movement? Well, I’m delighted to say that another flotilla is what’s next!
So, soon after the Somud Flotilla, we have another flotilla, that will divert even more IOF soldiers from their primary task of committing genocide. The power of the people is on full display, and I’ve never been more hopeful that it can end the horrific mass slaughter that has been live-streamed for the past two years.
FREE PALESTINE!!!
Ponderings Of An Autist 