Participants included Belgian sailor Arno Meyns, whose ribs were broken by Israeli forces; French activist and nurse Mariam Hadjal, who said she was subjected to physical abuse and sexual assault while in detention; and Arab-Jewish journalist Noa Avishag Schnall, who reported receiving beatings and rape threats while detained in Israel.
Among the prominent demonstrators were former UN staff member Chloe Fiona Ludden, who resigned in protest because of the international community’s response to Gaza, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and hundreds of supporters.
The Global Sumud Flotilla — carrying 428 volunteers from 44 countries — had set sail with a straightforward humanitarian mandate: to deliver aid supplies to a population that the United Nations and international aid agencies warn is being pushed to the brink of famine under an Israeli blockade that has strangled Gaza since 2007.
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