UN experts stand in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla, demand full protection of all passengers

GENEVA – United Nations experts* today urged Israel to cease all threats of harm against the Global Sumud Flotilla and ensure it proceeds unhindered in its mission to deliver humanitarian aid to the civilian population in Gaza.

“Any attempt to block the flotilla would constitute a grave violation of international law and humanitarian principles,” the experts said.

They stressed that the flotilla is a consequence of the failure of the international community to end Israel’s unlawful blockade of Gaza and the catastrophic humanitarian crisis it has produced. “Civil society activists would not be compelled to risk their lives at sea if the General Assembly or Security Council had taken decisive action to ensure safe and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” the experts said.

On 31 August, the Global Sumud Flotilla — comprising more than 50 ships and carrying activists from 44 countries — set sail from Barcelona with critical humanitarian supplies, including food, medicine and baby formula. A second wave of ships is scheduled to depart from Tunisia this week, joining vessels from Italy, Greece and elsewhere in the Mediterranean.

The experts expressed extreme concern for the safety of the activists and the risk of unlawful actions against them by Israel. They recalled the attack against the ship Madaleen in June 2025 and raised alarm over recent threats by Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. On 1 September, Ben-Gvir reportedly presented a plan to the cabinet to halt the flotilla, describing it as “an attempt to support the Hamas terrorist organisation and trample Israeli sovereignty.”

According to available information, the plan threatens all flotilla participants with prolonged detention in Israel’s Ketziot and Damon prisons under harsh conditions usually reserved for “security prisoners”, with basic needs and communications denied. It further provides for the confiscation and repurposing of the ships.

“Such measures would be unlawful and would amount to collective punishment, intimidation and reprisals against human rights defenders,” the experts said. “States must act now or risk complicity in Israel’s grave violations of Palestinians’ rights.”

The experts recalled that under international law, Gaza remains occupied territory. Israel’s 17-year blockade — which has deliberately restricted food, fuel, medical supplies, shelter and other humanitarian assistance, with particular impacts on women and children — constitutes collective punishment prohibited by international humanitarian law. “Israel’s actions must be seen in the context of an unlawful occupation and the broader assault on the Palestinian people, which numerous authoritative bodies have warned may amount to genocide,” they said.

The experts also stressed the obligations of all States under the UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions to ensure respect for international humanitarian law. “States must make clear that they will not tolerate Israel blocking humanitarian aid to a population facing starvation and genocide. They must press Israel to immediately lift its suffocating blockade and allow aid to be delivered through all crossings into Gaza,” they said.