This study examines the Global Sumud Flotilla—the largest, transnational maritime mission ever attempted to challenge Israel’s 18-year naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Using a multidisciplinary lens that combines international-law analysis, conflict-studies methodology, and real-time media monitoring, the research:
1. Maps the geopolitical genealogy of Gaza’s siege (2007-2025), tracing how successive Israeli governments converted a “security cordon” into what UN experts now label a genocidal blockade responsible for famine conditions affecting 2.3 million Palestinians .
2. Documents the evolution of civil-society resistance at sea, from the 2010 Mavi Marmara tragedy—where Israeli commandos killed ten activists in international waters ___to the May 2025 drone attack on the Conscience that injured four crew 14 nmi off Malta .
3. Analyzes the 2025 Sumud campaign (31 August – mid-September) in which 50 vessels from 44 countries, carrying 350 activists including Greta Thunberg, Ada Colau, and Mariana Mortágua, coordinated a two-wave departure from Barcelona and Tunis to “open a permanent humanitarian corridor” .
4. Evaluates state responses: Spanish diplomatic protection pledges, Israeli interception protocols tested in June and July 2025, and the legal arguments advanced by the International Criminal Court’s ongoing genocide investigation.
5. Assesses impact metrics: media reach (>1 billion social impressions), legal precedents on freedom of navigation, and the flotilla’s role in reframing Gaza from a “humanitarian crisis” to a test case for international accountability.
Primary sources include on-board logs, ICC filings, UN OCHA briefings, and real-time satellite AIS data; secondary sources span academic journals, NGO reports, and verified media from BBC, Al Jazeera, and The Guardian. The study contributes to debates on civilian enforcement of international humanitarian law and the efficacy of non-state actors in conflict zones.
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