The National Lawyers Guild condemns in the strongest terms, Israel’s statements on the Global Sumud Flotilla, referring to it as the “Hamas Flotilla”. Such accusations by Israel, who the UN confirmed is committing genocide just this past week, that the Global Sumud Flotilla is acting in coordination with or at the direction of any other group is categorically false and only serves to provide cover for their relentless attacks on the boats and people who make up the flotilla in violation of international law.

The Global Sumud Flotilla is a coalition of everyday people who could no longer bear to watch the ongoing genocide in Palestine and non-stop slaughter of people in Gaza without taking collective action and endeavoring to break the siege and deliver life-saving humanitarian aid.

Tonight, multiple drones attacked a boat that is traveling as part of the flotilla near Cyprus. This follows multiple attacks on the Global Sumud Flotilla over the last couple of weeks where drones dropped incendiary devices on the decks of inhabited ships while docked in Tunisia, both a violation of international law and of Tunisia’s Sovereignty.

The stated mission of the Global Sumud Flotilla is to break the siege on Gaza and deliver lifesaving humanitarian aid; aid that is being purposefully withheld from Palestinians in Gaza by Israel. For this reason, Israel’s “offers” to receive the aid from the flotilla to deliver to Gaza cannot be taken seriously, as they are committing genocide in Gaza and are the sole reason food, medical supplies, tents, and other lifesaving supplies are not available. They are also responsible for the utter destruction of all infrastructure and agricultural lands, subjecting Palestinians to full reliance on external humanitarian aid to survive.

Israel has already proven their eagerness to attack the Global Sumud Flotilla, and in fact has already carried out many of these attacks. The NLG  calls for immediate protection for the boats and volunteers, in particular that the coast guard from nearby Cyprus immediately provide security to the Flotilla and hold Israel accountable for the most recent attack from the past few momoents. We call on other governments, particularly those on the Mediterranean coasts to deploy their coast guards to protect the Flotilla as they approach Gaza, through international and sovereign Palestinian waters.