The Maghreb Steadfastness Flotilla announced Wednesday evening that the 13th ship out of 23 Maghreb ships had set sail from Tunisia toward Gaza, as part of efforts to break the 18-year Israeli blockade on the Strip.
The fleet said in a video posted on its Facebook page that the ship “Florida,” also known as “Anas Al Sharif,” set sail from the port of Gammarth, north of the Tunisian capital, heading for Gaza.
Earlier on Wednesday, Jawaher Shanna, a member of the Maghreb Steadfastness Fleet, told Anadolu Agency that 12 ships belonging to the Maghreb fleet had set sail (from Tunisia) towards Gaza, and that another ship was expected to set sail today.
Dozens of Tunisians gathered in front of the port as the Florida set sail, raising slogans including: “Gaza is a symbol of pride,” “Millions of martyrs are heading to Gaza,” “With our souls and blood we will redeem Palestine,” and “Free Palestine, Zionists out.”
The “Maghreb Resilience Fleet” is part of the “Global Resilience Fleet,” which comprises approximately 50 vessels, including 23 from the Maghreb and 22 from other countries. Activists from European countries, Latin America, the United States, Pakistan, India, and Malaysia are participating on board.
According to Anadolu Agency, citing sources in the fleet, 17 foreign (non-Maghreb) ships as part of the global fleet had departed from the port of Bizerte heading for Gaza by Wednesday evening, while the 13 Maghreb ships had set sail from the ports of Gammarth and Sidi Bou Said.
Thus, the total number of ships that have set sail for Gaza has reached 30 as of Wednesday evening.
At the end of last August, a convoy of ships within the fleet departed from the Spanish port of Barcelona, followed by another convoy at dawn on September 1 from the port of Genoa in northwestern Italy.
On September 7, ships from Spain and Italy began arriving off the Tunisian coast, preparing to head to Gaza to break the Israeli blockade and open a humanitarian corridor to deliver aid to starving Palestinians.
The final meeting point for all ships in international waters is scheduled to be between Malta and Italy, where it was decided that the ships would gather at the same location to move collectively towards Gaza, according to Ghassan Al-Hanshiri, a member of the Global Resilience Flotilla, in a statement broadcast on the “Maghreb Resilience Flotilla” Facebook page.
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