Why we are sailing to Gaza on the Global Sumud Flotilla
The Global Sumud Flotilla off the coast of Menorca
Zukiswa Wanner and Jared Sacks write in Al Jazeera on 7 September 2025:
Food. Medication. Shelter. Freedom of movement. Water. Air.
Six basics for the survival of any human being and yet, for the past 23 months, we have watched with horror as apartheid Israel, backed by some of the most powerful governments in the world, has robbed the people of Gaza of these basic necessities for survival.
Together with many in the world, we have marched, spoken up, boycotted – reflecting the sentiments of the global majority. But this has not been enough to pressure world governments to stop Israel’s siege on Gaza and ensure that a genocide, occurring in real time, is put to an end.
While we are unable to deliver all six of the basics listed above, we hope to break the blockade and deliver food, medication and water to a besieged and starving population. This is the mission of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF).
The GSF is the largest citizen-led humanitarian flotilla mission to Gaza ever, combining previous humanitarian missions to Gaza over land, sea and air. It builds on decades of Palestinian resistance and international solidarity. It includes activists, humanitarians, doctors, artists, clergy and lawyers – all of whom have come together to take direct action to break the siege.
The South African delegation includes 10 people coming from all over the country and from different backgrounds: Christians, Muslims, Jews, agnostics and atheists united in a common goal of bringing aid to Gaza.
Our efforts are closely aligned with the provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on January 26, 2024, and its subsequent orders from March 28 and May 24, 2024, as part of the case of South Africa vs Israel. In the provisional ruling, the ICJ specifically required Israel to take all measures within its power to enable the provision of urgently needed humanitarian assistance in Gaza.