The sail of the U.S. Boats to Gaza - sponsored boat—Adalah—is a tribute to the Palestinian activist, community leader, and father, Awda Hathaleen, who was shot dead by an Israeli settler in his village of Um il-Kheir in July 2025. Awda was a friend of Bob Suberi, who is crewing the Adalah boat. (Photo by Ann Wright)
The U.S. Boats to Gaza, one of the 18 national campaigns of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla coalition (FFC) urgently requests solidarity and action to help safeguard the current flotilla mission en route Gaza. There are 25 U.S. citizens among the over 500 participants from 45 countries on the 2026 flotilla to Gaza.
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As the almost 60 vessels from the FFC, Global Sumud Flotilla, and the Mavi Marmara Freedom and Solidarity Association move closer to Gaza, hostile rhetoric from Israeli media and political circles has intensified significantly.
False accusations and inflammatory narratives are already being circulated in what appears to be an effort to delegitimize the mission and lay the groundwork for not only unlawful aggression against unarmed civilians, but potentially lethal violence against our boats. In this moment, broad public visibility and political pressure are essential.
This mission is a lawful, civilian-led initiative challenging the ongoing blockade imposed on Gaza. It is critical that organizations, elected officials, community leaders, and individuals publicly affirm the legitimacy of the flotilla and demand the protection of everyone on board.
Recent media coverage connected to the Israeli establishment has insinuated that the flotilla could be treated as a security or “terror” threat. These allegations are entirely unfounded. They follow a familiar pattern in which humanitarian and solidarity efforts are deliberately misrepresented to rationalize state violence before it occurs.
We have seen this language used before in relation to attacks on civilian missions, including the deadly assault on the Mavi Marmara, in which 10 of our colleagues were murdered, including one U.S. citizen, 19-year-old Furkan Dǒgan.
These threats must be taken seriously. Israel has repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to attack civilians, humanitarian workers, journalists, and solidarity activists while facing no meaningful accountability from powerful governments. Silence at this stage only increases the danger.
We therefore ask supporters to take the following actions immediately:
- This flotilla is made up of almost 60 vessels carrying hundreds of people from over 45 countries. LEARN about the participants on the five FFC Boats here.
2. FOLLOW the flotilla on our tracker.
AMPLIFY updates from the flotilla across social media and public platforms, including Instagram content FFC and GSF.You can also follow us on: Facebook, Telegram, TikTok, Bluesky, and LinkedIn and help amplify our content. Find all our channels and important updates here.
ORGANIZE: If you represent an NGO, coalition, union, faith institution, or community organization, issue a public statement or press release calling for the flotilla’s protection and the right of civilians to reach Gaza. Organize a local vigil or protest to demand safe passage for the flotilla.
CONTACT members of Congress — especially representatives connected to participants aboard the flotilla — and demand that they publicly oppose any attack, interception, detention, or use of force against the mission. Calls should also demand an end to U.S. weapons transfers supporting Israeli military actions.
The U.S. Capitol switchboard is: (202) 224-3121.CALL ON local and state officials to publicly support the mission and speak against any violence targeting civilian delegates.
As always, if you can, DONATE.
At its core, this flotilla consists of unarmed civilians attempting to challenge an illegal and deadly blockade that has devastated Gaza for nearly two decades and has been used as a tool of starvation and genocide. Efforts to portray such a mission as “terrorism” reveal the extent to which Palestinian humanity — and even solidarity with Palestinians — is routinely criminalized and dehumanized. On the anniversary of the Nakba, these realities remain impossible to separate from the broader structures of dispossession and violence Palestinians continue to endure.
Join our Palestine Working Group & Take action NOW!
Ann Wright served 29 years in the U.S. Army/Army Reserves and retired as a Colonel. She was a U.S. diplomat for 16 years, but resigned from the U.S. government in 2003 in opposition to the U.S. war on Iraq. She has been on many flotilla missions including with the Mavi Marmara mission in 2010 and the Women’s Boat in 2016.
Huwaida Arraf is a human rights lawyer and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) for Palestine. She was on the small boats that succeeded in getting into Gaza in 2008. She was on the Mavi Marmara mission in 2010 and was the boat leader for the Handala and Conscience missions in 2025.
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