Greta Thunberg announces new trip to Gaza despite Israeli threat to deliver humanitarian aid in 'dozens of boats'

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg announced this Sunday via Instagram that a new flotilla will set sail from Spain on August 31st to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

"On August 31, we launched the largest attempt to break the illegal Israeli siege on Gaza with dozens of boats sailing from Spain. We will join dozens more on September 4, sailing from Tunisia and other ports," reads the announcement, which, in addition to Thunberg, includes several pro-Palestinian activists.

The campaign also notes that it seeks to mobilize "more than 44 countries in simultaneous demonstrations and actions to break the complicity in solidarity with the Palestinian people."

Thunberg was one of the members of the Freedom Flotilla that attempted to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, but was intercepted on June 8 by the Israeli Army.

Of the 12 activists traveling aboard the Maleen, a Freedom Flotilla ship intended to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza and deliver a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid to the enclave , four (including Thunberg) agreed to be deported after the vessel was intercepted by the Israeli military.

The remaining activists refused to sign their voluntary deportation and were detained and brought before a court to ratify the expulsion orders. Under Israeli law, once a person receives a deportation order, they are detained for 72 hours or more before being removed from the country.

The activists' lawyers said Israeli authorities "intercepted and forcibly seized" the vessel and "detained the volunteers, violating their will and fundamental rights under international law."

Another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Handala, was also intercepted by the Israeli army on July 27.

One of the Handala crew members, Franco-Swedish MEP Emma Fourreau, wrote in X that the ship was boarded by the Israeli army 115 kilometers off the coast of Gaza and that the crew threw their phones into the water as a safety precaution.

"The Handala was carrying a shipment of critical humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza, including baby formula, diapers, food, and medicine. The entire cargo was non-military, civilian, intended for direct distribution to a population facing deliberate starvation and medical overwhelm under Israel's illegal blockade," the organization said.