John,
For 17 years, Israel has strangled Gaza under an air, sea, and land blockade, cutting off food, fuel, and medicine, collectively punishing two million people. Since October 2023, the crisis has spiraled into catastrophe: famine, disease, and mass civilian suffering. This is collective punishment, and it is illegal under international law.
Now, the largest humanitarian flotilla ever assembled, nearly 50 ships carrying hundreds of volunteers, lawmakers, and over 500 tons of aid, is sailing peacefully to Gaza. Their mission is simply to deliver life-saving aid and open a humanitarian corridor. But Israel has threatened to stop them, even as the United Nations warns that blocking this mission would be a “grave violation of international law.”
UN human rights experts have made it clear that the blockade is unlawful, the humanitarian crisis is man-made, and the responsibility falls on the international community to act. Attempts to stop, detain, or attack these flotilla participants would not only be unlawful but a direct assault on humanitarian defenders standing for justice.
The world must demand that Israel lift the blockade and let humanitarian aid through, without conditions, without violence, without delay.
Tell U.S. lawmakers and European governments to demand Israel end its brutal, 17-year blockade of Gaza and allow the humanitarian flotillas to deliver critical aid to its civilians.
If flotillas are blocked today, tomorrow famine will deepen, and lives will be lost that could have been saved. Every government has a responsibility under international law to stop genocide, to uphold humanitarian principles, and to demand an end to collective punishment.
For too long, leaders have looked away while Gaza suffers under siege. That time is over. A united international voice is rising from the UN to human rights defenders across the globe. But unless people like us add grassroots pressure, governments will stay silent and complicit.
Every day the blockade continues, children starve, hospitals collapse, and civilians suffer without medicine or clean water. Silence from U.S. lawmakers and European governments is complicity.
We cannot let Israel continue to blockade an entire civilian population. We cannot let peaceful aid missions be threatened. And we cannot let genocide unfold under our watch.
Tell lawmakers and European governments to end Israel’s blockade of Gaza and let the flotillas deliver aid.
Together we can demand justice and end the blockade.
- DFA AF Team
