SICILY | May 2, 2026 — Just days after Israel’s assault on unarmed civilian vessels in international waters near Crete, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) is pressing forward—not retreating. Today, four new vessels launched from Siracusa, determined not to give in to Israel’s violence and brutality.

Israel’s April 29 attack, carried out over 600 nautical miles (over 1100 km) from its shores, was not an act of “security.” It was piracy. It was state terrorism on the high seas. Sadly, the attack was not an isolated incident, but a pattern of lawlessness and aggression that has been enabled, normalized, and shielded by international inaction.

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The Freedom Flotilla Coalition calls on the international community, civil society, and the media to demand accountability for Israel’s attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla. We call on all governments to guarantee safe passage for flotilla vessels and to uphold the basic principles of international law. And we call on all people of conscience: do not look away. We will not be deterred. We will not be silenced.