Turkish activists announce preparations for a larger new Gaza flotilla

A senior figure in Turkey’s pro-Palestinian flotilla movement said preparations have begun for a new mission to Gaza in the coming months. The announcement was made on Saturday night by Ismail Sungur, a leading activist in the Turkish branch of the Global Sumud Flotilla and head of the Mavi Marmara organization, during a “Council of Ideas” event in Istanbul.

The gathering drew many speakers, as well as widespread support from Turkish media and politicians, with attendees seen wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags. Sungur said the planned flotilla aims to break the blockade on Gaza and draw attention to the humanitarian situation there. Organizers say this effort will involve more ships and much broader international participation than the spring flotillas.

The statement from Turkey is the first concrete sign of another attempt, although it remained vague about timing. It came soon after the organization’s spring 2026 flotillas were intercepted by the navy in international waters. Dozens of ships, including a large Turkish contingent that left from Marmaris, were stopped, hundreds of activists were taken to Israel, detained and deported, and many later returned to Turkey.

Despite that operational failure, organizers led by Turkish groups such as IHH and Mavi Marmara say they view the campaign as a media success and intend to keep applying maritime pressure on Israel. IHH, which presents itself as a humanitarian NGO and has special consultative status at the UN Economic and Social Council, is based in Istanbul and active in dozens of countries, but is best known in Israel for the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, when ten Turkish activists were killed after Shayetet 13 boarded the ship. Israel says the flotillas are provocations and public-relations stunts, and its security establishment and Foreign Ministry are monitoring the preparations and vow to block any attempt to break what they describe as a lawful security blockade. Separately, ten international activists from the overland Sumud convoy, which was supposed to meet the sea flotilla in Gaza, have remained detained in Benghazi, Libya, for about three weeks after being arrested in late May 2026 by forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar. Sumud and Amnesty are demanding their immediate release.