Friends, comrades,
supporters,
As we wrote to
you yesterday,
starting at
approximately
10:30 a.m.
Palestine time
on May 18,
Israeli
Occupation
Forces began
carrying out a
prolonged assault on the Gaza flotilla in
international
waters. For
more than 35
hours, Israeli
forces attacked and damaged over 50 civilian
vessels
carrying only
unarmed
international
volunteers and
a modest
amount of
humanitarian
aid. At least
one boat has
sunk from the
damage—boats
that we were
going to
donate to
Gaza’s
fishers.
Our flotilla
is clearly not
a security
threat. But,
Israel's
illegal and
deadly
blockade was
never about
security.
So far, 428 civilians
from more than
40 countries
have been
abducted and
transferred
onto Israeli
prison ships.
Livestream
videos
documenting
the final
moments of the
attacks on
various
vessels
confirm that
Israeli forces
opened fire on flotilla boats, used high-pressure water cannons, rammed at
least one
vessel, and
violently
boarded the
boats.
The final vessel still sailing was the Freedom
Flotilla
Coalition boat
Lina
al-Nabulsi,
which was
stormed by
armed Israeli
commandos a
few short
hours ago. The
vessel was named in honor of Lina al-Nabulsi,
a Palestinian
teenager shot
and killed by
Israeli
Occupation
Forces 50
years ago,
while still
wearing her
school
uniform.
We have reason to
believe that
at least three
people have
been shot and
sustained
non-life-threatening
injuries. The
full extent of
the violence
against
flotilla
volunteers
remains
unknown, as
we've lost
contact with
them. Families
and supporters
around the
world are
still awaiting
confirmation
of their
safety and
whereabouts.
Outrageously, the
Cyprus Joint
Rescue
Coordination
Centre (JRCC),
which has clear
obligations
under
international
maritime
search-and-rescue
law, to
respond to
distress
alerts from
civilians at
sea, refused to respond to emergency SOS alerts
from our
vessels under
attack.
Governments
that have the
power to
intervene have
instead
remained
silent or
complicit. The
United States,
among others,
continues to
support and
enable
Israel’s
actions while
failing to
protect its
own citizens
from unlawful
violence and
kidnapping.
Israel's latest act of
piracy and
global
terrorism is
not only an
attack on the
flotilla
initiatives.
It is an
attack on
international
law,
coordinated
nonviolent
action, and
the
fundamental
principle that
people have
the right to
oppose
genocide and
crimes against
humanity.
We urgently need your
support.
Please share our alerts, contact elected officials,
amplify this
attack across
your networks,
and plan or
join
demonstrations
and actions in
your
communities.
Your voice and
solidarity
matter now
more than
ever. They can
attack our
boats, but
they cannot
sink our
movement!
In solidarity & struggle
for justice,
U.S. Boats to Gaza team
ACTIONS:
-
Follow us on: Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, TikTok, Bluesky, and LinkedIn and
help amplify
our content.
Find all our
channels and
important
updates here https://linktr.ee/freedomflotillacoalition
-
ORGANIZE: If you represent an
NGO,
coalition,
union, faith
institution,
or community
organization,
issue a public
statement
condemning
Israel’s
-
CONTACT members of Congress
and demand
that they
publicly
condemn this
attack,
interception,
detention, or
use of force
against the
mission. Calls
should also
demand an end
to U.S.
weapons
transfers
supporting
Israeli’s
crimes.
The U.S.
Capitol
switchboard
is: (202)
224-3121.
-
CALL ON local and state
officials to
issue
statements
condemning
Israel’s
attack on
unarmed
civilians,
including U.S.
citizens.
-
DONATE, only if you can: http://usboatstogaza.org/donate
THANK YOU for your
support!