Published On 3/5/2026
Israeli sources reported that the Israeli army navy is preparing to confront another pro-Palestinian fleet that will sail from Turkey, days after an attack launched by Israel on a number of Al-Samoud fleet ships in international waters near the Greek island of Crete and the kidnapping of dozens of activists on board.
According to the Israeli Channel 13, the new flotilla – which is expected to sail to the Gaza Strip from the Turkish city of Marmaris – is organized by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Organization, which is known for organizing the Mavi Marmara flotilla in 2010.
It indicated that the Israeli army estimates that the new fleet is expected to be more important than the previous one, as there are real fears that some of the activists on board will be armed with firearms or knives, and that they will try to break the naval blockade imposed on Gaza by force.
She said that the Israeli Navy prepared reinforced forces in order to stop the fleet’s advance in a timely manner.
She said that the preparations for the Turkish fleet come in light of serious accusations from activists who participated in the recent European fleet, which was detained by the Israeli Navy last Thursday.
The activists, who were on board 20 ships from the “Al-Samoud” fleet, said that Israeli army soldiers used excessive violence against them and deliberately sabotaged the ships’ communications and propulsion systems, rendering them unable to sail.
Ships gathering in Turkey
On Friday evening, a private plane carrying 59 activists landed at Istanbul Airport, including 18 Turkish citizens from the “Global Resilience Fleet,” which was subjected to Israeli aggression in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea while on its way to break the siege on Gaza, where the occupation detained 175 activists.
Immediately upon their arrival, the media reported statements by some activists in which they confirmed that preparations were underway to equip a new fleet that includes between 100 and 150 ships gathering in Turkish ports.
New regiments of the Al-Samoud Fleet are still on their way to Gaza, as a regiment set off from the Italian island of Sicily, as part of what was called the “Spring 2026 Mission,” which sailed with about 39 boats, from the Spanish city of Barcelona on April 12, while the organizers plan for the participation of more than 100 ships and boats, departing from various ports in Spain, Italy, and Tunisia.
Preparations in Turkey bring back the confrontation of the Mavi Marmara fleet, which sailed on May 31, 2010 to break the siege on Gaza, but the Israeli occupation launched an attack on the “Marmara” ship, killing 10 Turkish solidarity activists and wounding 56 others, in an incident that left a severe diplomatic crisis between Tel Aviv and Ankara.
It is noteworthy that the first naval break of the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip succeeded in August 2008, when the “Freedom” and “Free Gaza” ships were able to reach the shores of Gaza, while the last ship to succeed in arriving was the Qatari “Dignity” ship, which arrived at the Gaza port in December 2008 as well.
