Amnesty Urges Aid Flotilla Protection

Amnesty (News Central TV) Amnesty (News Central TV)
Amnesty urges aid flotilla protection. Credit: Jurist.org

Amnesty International has called for international safeguards for a humanitarian flotilla en route to Gaza, citing serious concerns over Israel’s threats to intercept and block its access to the besieged enclave.

According to Israeli media, the military is preparing to halt the convoy around 180 kilometres off Gaza’s coast, beyond Israel’s territorial waters, and tow the vessels to Ashdod Port.

Amnesty described such threats as alarming, warning that the flotilla was nearing a “highly dangerous area” where an Israeli operation could occur.

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The convoy consists of more than 40 ships and hundreds of activists from 44 countries.

Amnesty hailed the mission as a peaceful effort to challenge what it called Israel’s “illegal blockade of Gaza”, which has been in place for 18 years.

The flotilla is primarily transporting humanitarian and medical supplies, and its departure, Amnesty said, reflects the urgent need to address Gaza’s “systematic famine, collapsed health care system and comprehensive blockade.”

Amnesty (News Central TV)
Amnesty urges aid flotilla protection. Credit: Middle East Monitor

The organisation also appealed to Arab League members to take responsibility for their citizens aboard the ships and called on regional governments to recognise their political and moral obligation to challenge the blockade.

It further urged world leaders to condemn any attempt by Israel to obstruct or attack the flotilla and to demand safety guarantees for all participants.

This is the first large-scale maritime mission to Gaza in several years, with dozens of ships sailing together towards the Strip.

Since Israel tightened its blockade on March 2 by sealing all border crossings and preventing food, medicine and aid deliveries, Gaza has been pushed into famine, with dire shortages worsening the humanitarian crisis.

Israel’s ongoing assault, which began in October 2023, has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Continuous bombardment has left Gaza virtually uninhabitable, with widespread hunger and disease spreading rapidly.

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  • Abdullahi Jimoh

    Abdullahi Jimoh is a multimedia journalist and digital content creator with over a decade's experience in writing, communications, and marketing across Africa and the UK.

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