Incident Will Not Halt "Soumoud" Flotilla's Mission
Ghassen Henchiri, a member of the joint action coordination for Palestine and a member of the steering committee of the international flotilla, stated that the incident that occurred last night will not prevent the "Soumoud" Flotilla from pursuing its objective. "The departure tomorrow, Wednesday, to Gaza is still maintained," he emphasized.
During a press conference in front of the Municipal Theater in Tunis, Henchiri indicated that he could not comment on the previous day's event, which now has "a secret character due to its link with state security," stating that "a special unit has taken over the case."
On Monday night, a fire broke out on one of the ships of the "Soumoud" Flotilla (the Family ship), which was anchored off the port of Sidi Bou Saïd (north of Tunis), without causing any damage or casualties.
According to members of the flotilla, "an unidentified drone allegedly dropped an incendiary substance on the boat." The Ministry of Interior denied this version, specifying that specialized units found ignition traces on a life jacket and quickly controlled the fire.
The first units of the global flotilla to break the Gaza blockade, which arrived on Sunday evening in Sidi Bou Saïd, consist of around 20 ships that departed from Barcelona (Spain) a few days earlier. The flotilla brings together volunteers from 44 countries and federates several platforms: the Maghreb Resilience Flotilla, the Freedom Flotilla, the Global March to Gaza, and the East Asian initiative "Sumoud Nusantara."
The collective departure from Tunisia, initially scheduled for September 4, was postponed due to technical, logistical, and meteorological reasons. The organizers assure that the flotilla will set sail on Wednesday at 16:00 from Sidi Bou Saïd, after the integration of the Maghreb component.
