Greta Thunberg, Facebook photo.
Frustration is at an all-time high. The streets of America and Europe are filled with people who care about the plight of the Palestinians. Humanitarian activists have taken things into their own hands, launching two high-profile efforts to challenge Israel’s blockade on Gaza: the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, with the vessel Madleen carrying activists like Greta Thunberg, and the Global March to Gaza, a land-based initiative involving thousands of participants from over 80 countries.
Both efforts aimed to deliver aid and draw global attention to Gaza’s humanitarian crisis but were decisively halted by Israeli forces at sea and Egyptian authorities on land. But the activists must not remain deterred. These failures to breach Israel’s blockade simply highlight the formidable barriers Israel has created to prevent such aid from reaching the Palestinians. Activists should use this as proof to further our cause and raise more money for the next effort.
Unfortunately, the efforts to break Israel’s blockade only received limited international support, which further weakened the effort. While the flotilla garnered sympathy from progressive groups and UN experts, who called for safe passage, major powers like the United States, Israel’s key ally, upheld the blockade’s legitimacy as a security measure. European nations issued tepid criticisms of Israel’s actions but avoided direct confrontation. Lacking crucial diplomatic backing from influential states, the activists were unable to achieve their goal.
However, all was not lost. Both efforts did generate a huge amount of media publicity, and the Palestinian cause gained much attention throughout the ordeal that activists endured.
The Global March to Gaza was canceled after Egyptian authorities detained over 200 participants, deported nearly 500, and blocked access to Sinai, while Libyan officials halted the convoy in their territory.
Egypt’s government, under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, supposedly prioritized national security over the activists’ humanitarian goals. Egyptian authorities detained and deported dozens of foreign activists upon arrival in Cairo, confiscating passports and blocking travel to Al-Arish.
While this makes no sense from the activist’s point of view, it seems Cairo rejects any role in absorbing Gaza’s population, fearing it would enable Israel’s displacement policies – which makes sense.
Obviously, the activism in favor of the Palestinians is not meant to support Israeli efforts to displace them and therefore it is somewhat understandable that the Egyptians feared an influx of Palestinians into their territory if it meant giving Israel a win. Israel also warned of military action if Egypt allowed the march to proceed – a threat Egypt was not interested in dealing with.
These events demand a reckoning with the international community’s inaction. The blockade’s humanitarian toll—over 54,600 Palestinians killed, 125,300 injured, and 1.9 million displaced since October 2023—requires more than symbolic protests.
We must engage in efforts to achieve effective change such as strengthening International Criminal Court cases against Israeli officials for war crimes and encouraging sanctions or arms embargoes on Israel.
We must also highlight Western complicity in crimes against the Palestinians and force Israel to buckle in diplomatic fora. Global South nations can assist in this regard.
Perhaps they were unsuccessful this time, but future aid efforts to highlight the plight of the Palestinians will succeed even if they only expose the blockade’s brutality and galvanize global support and solidarity.
As the crisis in Gaza deepens (now under the radar during Israel’s war against Iran) the urgency of collective action only grows more critical.
