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GLOBAL SUMUD FLOTILLA: WHEN STATES FAIL, HUMANITY SETS SAIL  
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Deniz Baran
September 9, 2025
Middle East Eye
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_ The flotilla sails as a lawful act of civil society, seeking to
challenge Israel's blockade of Gaza and deliver essential humanitarian
aid to a starving population _

Participants arrive at Sidi Bou Said port in Tunisia in support of
the Global Sumud Flotilla, a civilian aid fleet preparing to sail to
Gaza, 7 September 2025 , Hasan Mrad/Zuma Press Wire

 

The Global Sumud Flotilla
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is already on the move. More than 50 vessels, the largest civilian aid
convoy ever assembled for Gaza
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sail from ports across Europe.

Part of the flotilla has already docked
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in Tunisia [[link removed]], where it
was welcomed by thousands of supporters, before heading to join the
rest of the fleet. It is scheduled to set sail from Sidi Bou Said port
on 10 September, following weather and logistical delays
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It would not be an exaggeration to call this the boldest humanitarian
civil society mission in recent history, destined to take its place
alongside some of the most prominent non-violent civil disobedience
actions, such as Gandhi's Salt March.

The flotilla brings together people from 44 countries and a wide range
of backgrounds. Among them are activists, artists, doctors,
politicians and journalists - including climate activist Greta
Thunberg
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- united by an urgent goal: to deliver essential humanitarian aid to
Palestinians [[link removed]] in
Gaza, who have been deliberately deprived of the means of survival for
nearly two years.

Hundreds of thousands of children
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attempt to access the meagre supply of livestock risk being shot
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while waiting in queues.

In the absence of state action, the Global Sumud Flotilla seeks not
only to deliver aid and open a humanitarian corridor, but also to
assert the unlawfulness of Israel
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legitimacy of breaking it.

Unlawful blockade

The unlawfulness of the blockade is as clear as the lawfulness of the
flotilla's mission. Its basis is the internationally recognised right
of the people of Gaza to receive humanitarian aid without
interference.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court classifies the
"starvation of civilians as a method of warfare" as a war crime
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The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits
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collective punishment, and Additional Protocol I forbids the
starvation
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of civilians as a method of warfare.

Moreover, under Article II
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of the Genocide Convention, deliberately inflicting conditions of life
calculated to destroy a group, including through starvation, may
amount to genocide.

International humanitarian law prohibits a naval blockade that
disproportionately harms civilians, starves the population, or blocks
humanitarian relief - all of which apply to Israel's blockade of Gaza.

This is why it has been condemned
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repeatedly by UN bodies and experts.

As recognised by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its July
2024 advisory opinion [[link removed]], Israel is an
occupying power in Gaza. It is therefore obliged, to the fullest
extent of its means, to provide for the basic needs of Palestinians.

Under Additional Protocol I
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armed conflict, the delivery of essential aid cannot be obstructed,
nor can it be regarded as interference in the conflict or as an
unfriendly act. Parties to a conflict must allow the passage of all
relief, even when such assistance is destined for the civilian
population of the opposing side.

Right to sail

The binding orders of the ICJ have failed to restrain Israel. In the
face of repeated UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions
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an end to its genocidal
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no meaningful enforcement has followed.

States have not only failed to act despite Israel's breach of
peremptory norms of international law, but many can even be considered
complicit through their continued support.

Where the main pillar of the international community - the states -
has failed, transnational civil society, as another component of the
international community, has stepped in. The Global Sumud Flotilla is
the clearest expression of that intervention.

International law of the sea provides no justification for Israel to
forcibly interfere with the flotilla's voyage. Customary international
law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos)
guarantee
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all ships the right of free navigation on the high seas.

Unclos allows interference only in exceptional cases - piracy, the
slave trade, unauthorised broadcasting, or if the ship is stateless.
The flotilla clearly falls under none of these exceptions.

International humanitarian law, as elaborated in the Geneva
Conventions, is founded on the protection of civilians. Activists on
board the flotilla are therefore entitled to protection as
non-combatants.

Training sessions
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have made clear that all participants are committed to strict
non-violence, pledging to remain inactive even in the face of violent
interception by the Israeli navy.

This stance comes despite the tragic precedent of the Mavi Marmara
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killed.

Israel sought to justify its attack with accusations against the
activists, which were swiftly discredited
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by independent investigations. The same pattern has repeated
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other flotillas
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Israel's allegations collapse under scrutiny, while evidence of
unlawful violence piles up.

Now, the Israeli government has threatened to treat participants in
the current flotilla as "terrorists
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and to seize their vessels, despite their non-violent mission.

A test of conscience

It is now for Israel to decide whether it will unleash another episode
of violence against the united will of global civil society and add
yet another layer to its record of international law violations
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While international law enforcement mechanisms have so far failed to
halt Israel's crimes, the law has still created something vital:
legitimacy. That legitimacy has awakened global consciousness, rallied
solidarity with Palestinians, and led directly to this historic
flotilla.

By overrelying on crude power and disregarding international law,
Israel has entrapped itself in a deepening confrontation with global
public opinion
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Any violent response
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to the Global Sumud Flotilla will only tighten that trap, as each act
of violence ensures that new waves of fleets will continue to reach
Gaza's shores.

_The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not
necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye._

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Deniz Baran is a faculty member and teaching and research assistant at
Istanbul University’s International Law Department, and a lawyer
registered with the Istanbul Bar Association. He serves as an
executive board member of the Istanbul Arbitration Association (ISTA)
and is currently pursuing a PhD in Public International Law at
Istanbul University. Throughout his career, he has held various
academic and professional roles, including Coordinator of the
International Law Research Center (UHAM) at Fatih Sultan Mehmet
University and International Law Specialist at Al Sharq Forum.

Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and
analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond

* Global Sumud Flotilla; Aid to the Palestinians; Genocide
Convention;
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