“Around mid-September, these boats will arrive near the coast of Gaza. If we lose contact with our boats, with our comrades, even for just 20 minutes, we will shut down all of Europe,” said the dockworker, a video of whom has circulated widely online and in Italian media but who has not been identified.
“From this region 13 to 14,000 containers leave every year for Israel, not a single nail will leave anymore,” he added.
The Global Sumud Flotilla is the fourth and the largest maritime challenge to Israel’s blockade this year, with 20 ships and over 300 crew, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and Irish actor Liam Cunningham, departing from Barcelona.
The mission comes as Gaza faces a deepening humanitarian catastrophe, with U.N. agencies warning of famine conditions across the region.
In Genoa, a food drive collected more than 300 tons of humanitarian aid. On Saturday, over 40,000 people, including the city’s mayor, Silvia Salis, joined a torchlit march through the streets in support of the mission.
“Every day I am proud to be the mayor of this city, but tonight, if possible, I am even more so,” Salis said.