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From now on we will develop strategies, data and structures for all oppressed across the globe, deputy head of the Sumud Flotilla Türkiye delegation said on Wednesday, adding that they aim to leave this solidarity as a humanitarian legacy for the whole world.
Speaking to the press in Istanbul Airport after 15 activists of the flotilla descended, deputy coordinator of the Türkiye team Muhammed Raşit Sancar said: “Today the procedures of our last activist friend will be finalized, and he will be delivered to his family. This hope is the beginning of a road that will last until the blockade in Gaza is lifted completely and the genocide stops.”
“While presenting Sumud as a symbol of hope and resistance in world history, we express that we will continue our journey with determination, with new processes and new ideas,” he added.
Sancar reminded that the Freedom Flotilla is also on its way to Gaza and that they are currently following it.
One of the activists, Turgay Turan, recounted that Israel bombed Gaza 18 times while he was in prison.
Activist Muhammed Fatih Sinan, for his part, said: “Everyone’s common focus was Gaza. There was such a beautiful union that Israel! Dungeons turned for us into an entertainment center.”
Sinan also said that Turkish Israeli dual citizens in Israeli uniform maltreated them and even kicked them on the floor. “Please identify these despicables and dispel them from Turkish citizenship; we do not want them in this country,” he insisted, calling on authorities.
Saying that they continue their struggle and that all countries should build a peace force, Sinan continued: “We are experiencing the bitterness of returning by leaving thousands of oppressed Palestinians behind us in that prison. Those people need to get free of persecution now.”
Sinan also spoke separately to Anadolu Agency (AA) and said that they fled Israeli boats for nine hours. He added that Israeli soldiers used psychological and physical violence against them.
Indicating that they waited under the sun handcuffed behind their backs, he said: “They didn’t give us potable water. We drank water from the toilet; they didn’t give us food for a day. They didn’t give permission to the courtyard, but it was such a fun, happy and proud prison. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“We didn’t make it to Gaza, but we tried our best,” another activist, Abdullah Gündem, said, indicating that he was, on the other hand, happy to be back in Türkiye.
The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail on Oct. 1 to break Israel’s illegal blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. As it neared Gaza’s waters, Israeli forces launched an attack on the flotilla, seizing 42 ships and unlawfully detaining hundreds of international activists aboard.
The detainees were later transferred to the Ketziot Prison in southern Israel.
The Global Sumud Flotilla is recognized as the largest fleet ever organized to collectively deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
Activist Emine Güneş, on the other hand, underlined that Israel has to be isolated: “I have seen with my own eyes that they (Israeli soldiers) take pleasure in torture.”
An activist who joined the flotilla from Tunisia, Mecit Bağcivan, said: “I feel resentment that we couldn’t reach Gaza even though we were so close.”
“We have instilled in the world the idea that the blockade can be broken from the sea. Whilst we hoped for one, two or three boats, we finally set off with 50 boats, thank God. Hopefully, we will multiply 50 to 100 and 100 to 150 in the coming period. My belief is that we will go to Gaza for construction works before we find 2027-2028.”
Activist Sümeyye Sena Polat, on the other hand, emphasized that the process was difficult but very happy, and said: “No matter how you go to Gaza, it is the best trip. We were very close to Gaza and that was what made me the happiest. Every time I slept, I knew that Gaza was 50 kilometers away from me. The feeling of this is something special to me. My cell was a cell belonging to Palestinian prisoners, and it was very difficult for me to leave.”
Türkiye assisted the flotilla by air and sea during their journey that began in August. On Sept. 29, Türkiye delivered medicine and humanitarian assistance to the flotilla in the Mediterranean, somewhere between Cyprus and Egypt. The Turkish Red Crescent boarded the Turkish navy’s ships to reach the flotilla and deliver the aid. The charity also assisted in the evacuation of some activists aboard Johnny M, a flotilla vessel that malfunctioned and began taking on water.
Some activists aboard were transferred to other vessels, while four activists were evacuated to Türkiye. Türkiye also deployed drones in the area to monitor safe evacuation and delivery of humanitarian assistance.
