Climate celebrity Greta Thunberg’s Gaza flotilla has been forced to return to the Spanish port of Barcelona due to stormy seas. “Greta Thunberg’s aid flotilla has been forced to return to Barcelona less than 24 hours into its journey to Gaza because of stormy weather,” London-based The Telegraph reported
After threatening to defy the Israeli Navy guarding the shore of Gaza, Thunberg and her gang of Israel-haters turned around their ship, fearing rough weather. “Dozens of boats set sail for [Gaza] on Sunday in the largest attempt yet to break the Israeli blockade…, but returned to “prioritise safety,” the newspaper added.
On Sunday, Thunberg and her star-studded flotilla, comprising 20 boats and yachts, set sail to Gaza amid cheering crowds. Other estimates had placed the number of boats planning to join the flotilla between 50 and 70.
“At least 20 vessels left the port on the Spanish east coast… carrying humanitarian aid and a number of activists, as a large crowd of supporters cheered them on,” Germany’s state-owned DW TV reported. “Former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, Irish actor Liam Cunningham and Spain’s Eduard Fernandez are also on board the current flotilla as part of delegations of activists from 44 different countries.”
This was the second attempt by the Swedish activist to set sail for Gaza. In early June, Thunberg and her friends boarded — in what appeared to be a 45-foot luxury yacht. The Israeli Navy intercepted their boat and deported them back to Europe after brief detention. Thunberg was photographed cheerfully enjoying a sandwich handed out by the IDF.
Reuters reported on Thunberg’s failed boat trip:
An aid flotilla of dozens of boats that had set sail for Gaza on Sunday carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists, including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, has returned to port in Barcelona due to stormy weather, organisers said on Monday.”We conducted a sea trial and then returned to port to allow the storm to pass. This meant delaying our departure to avoid risking complications with the smaller boats,” the Global Sumud Flotilla Mission said in a statement, adding winds had been up to around 35 mph (56 kph).The organizers did not say when they planned to resume the journey.Activists including Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham are on the flotilla of several dozen boats that is aiming to break Israel’s naval blockade and deliver food and humanitarian supplies to the enclave, which has been devastated by nearly two years of war.
While Israeli soldiers secure humanitarian corridors and relief convoys despite repeated terror attacks from Hamas, Thunberg’s celebrity-laden flotilla hardly has any space to carry meaningful aid.
It is also worth noting that Hamas is the biggest threat to the delivery of food and humanitarian aid to Gaza. The United Nations’ own data shows that nearly 90 percent of all aid trucks entering Gaza between late May and early August had been looted or hijacked by Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorists.
Unlike the gourmet reception Thunberg got last time, the Israeli government is reportedly planning tougher measures against any flotilla attempting to breach the territorial waters this time.
“National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir presented a plan to the cabinet aimed at halting the largest flotilla ever planned to sail to Gaza, comprising 50 ships with activists from 44 countries,” the Jerusalem Post reported Sunday. “Ben-Gvir emphasized that the flotilla, despite its claimed humanitarian intentions, would be regarded as an attempt to undermine Israel’s sovereignty and support Hamas in Gaza.”
“Under the new suggested directive, all activists arrested in connection with the flotilla will be detained in Israel’s Ketziot and Damon prisons, which are used to hold terrorists under stringent conditions typically reserved for security prisoners,” the newspaper added.
While Thunberg and her gang of rich and famous activists safely disembark their selfie yachts, Israeli soldiers are risking their lives as they advance on the Hamas stronghold of Gaza City, located in northern Gaza.
“In the northern Gaza Strip, IDF troops continue to locate and dismantle terrorist infrastructure. Over the past day, IDF artillery struck several terrorist infrastructure and observation posts that were used by terrorists to observe IDF troops,” the Israeli military said in a statement on Sunday.
The Gaza City area still has largely intact terror tunnels and some of Hamas’ most combat-ready terrorist forces. The Islamic terrorist group still holds around 20 living hostages, and most of them are believed to be in and around Gaza City.
IDF ground troops appear to be clearing the area of terror tunnels and fortified posts ahead of a possible major offensive to take Gaza City.
In addition, troops struck a structure from which an anti-tank missile was fired toward IDF troops; no injuries were reported,” the IDF said. The military disclosed that “over the past week, IDF troops operating in the area of Jabaliya [north Gaza] eliminated terrorists, dismantled underground infrastructure and explosive sites.”
Fighting was also reported in southern Gaza. “In the southern Gaza Strip, IDF troops eliminated terrorists and dismantled underground infrastructure,” the IDF added.
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