BARCELONA, Spain: A flotilla headed to Gaza that had departed Barcelona under much fanfare was forced back to port after a storm hit parts of Spain overnight.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, consisting of around 20 boats with participants from 44 countries, chose to return and delay its departure to “prioritize safety,” a statement said Monday.
Facing winds of over 56 kilometers per hour (35 miles per hour), some of the smaller boats taking part in the mission would have been at risk, it said.
The flotilla is the largest attempt yet to break the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory by sea.
It comes as Israel has stepped up its offensive on Gaza City, limiting the deliveries of food and basic supplies in the north of the Palestinian territory. Food experts warned earlier this month that the city was gripped by famine and that half a million people across the strip were facing catastrophic levels of hunger.
Thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters had gathered under a scorching sun on the docks of Barcelona’s old port Sunday to cheer the mission as it took off.
Spain’s national weather agency AEMET had issued warnings of rainfall and strong storms for the region of Catalonia, as well as other parts of Spain.
It was unclear when the maritime convoy would depart Barcelona again. Other boats are expected to join from across the Mediterranean in the coming days, including from Tunis and Sicily.
Among the participants on board are Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and former Mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau. The flotilla also received support from Academy Award-winning actress Susan Sarandon and Liam Cunningham, known for his role in the HBO series “Game of Thrones.”
The Israeli military is likely to try and stop the boats from getting near Gaza, as they have done in the past.
The almost 23-month war has killed more than 63,000 people, with nearly 340 Palestinians dying of malnutrition, including 124 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Lebanon and Syria to form committees on prisoners, missing persons, and border issues
- Syria’s new administration wants to “open a new page” with Lebanon
- It also wants to review agreements with Lebanon signed during the Assad family’s 54-year dynasty
BEIRUT: Lebanon and Syria will form two
committees to decide the fate of the nearly 2,000 Syrian prisoners held
in Lebanese jails, locate Lebanese nationals missing in Syria for years
and settle the shared unmarked border, judicial and security officials
said.
Monday’s announcement came as a Syrian delegation, which
included two former Cabinet ministers and the head of Syria’s National
Commission for Missing Persons, visited Beirut, a first since insurgent
groups overthrew Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government in early
December.
Syria’s new administration, under interim President
Ahmad Al-Sharaa, wants to “open a new page” with Lebanon and pave the
way for a visit by the Syrian ministers of foreign affairs and justice,
though a date is yet to be set, a Lebanese judicial and two security
officials told The Associated Press.
The future visit could be a possible breakthrough between the two countries that have had tense relations for decades.
The
current Syrian leadership resents Lebanon’s Iran-allied Hezbollah group
for taking part in the country’s conflict, fighting alongside Assad’s
forces, while many Lebanese still grudge Syria’s 29-year domination of
its smaller neighbor, where it had a military presence for three decades
until 2005.
Talks on Monday with Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister
Tarek Mitri included Syrians held in Lebanese jails, of which about 800
have been detained for security reasons, such as attacks and shootings,
the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with
regulations. Many Syrians held in Lebanon are in jail without trial.
They
also said the two sides discussed Lebanese citizens missing in Syria
and the two countries shared border, where smuggling is common, and the
estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon who escaped the
uprising-turned-conflict in their home country over 14 years ago.
The
Syrian side wanted to review bilateral agreements that were in place
during the Assad family’s 54-year dynasty, but Lebanon suggested forming
new agreements to deal with pending issues between the two nations, the
Lebanese officials said.
Since the fall of Assad, two Lebanese
prime ministers have visited Syria. Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and
Al-Sharaa also held talks on the sidelines of an Arab summit in Egypt in
March.
The two neighbors had only agreed to open embassies in
2008, marking Syria’s first official recognition of Lebanon as an
autonomous state since it gained independence from France in 1943.
AP
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