One of the vessels that will sail for the Freedom Flotilla was named al-Awda (Return) to mark the 70th anniversary of the 1948 Nakba and support the Palestinian refugees' right of return.
Zaher Birawi, a founding member of the Freedom Flotilla coalition, said that this year's campaign to break the siege will have special significance because it will be launched in conjunction with the peak of the Great March of Return in Gaza which demands the return of all Palestinian refugees to their lands from which they were expelled in 1948.
Birawi added that the ships will visit some European ports in addition to one Arab port, where solidarity events in support of the Palestinian people will be organized, before heading to Gaza.
He pointed out that the relatively small ships will be carrying dozens of public figures and international peace activists from over 20 countries, and are expected to arrive in the Gaza Strip early July.
Comment: There have been a number of brave people over the years attempting to bring attention and/or aid to the plight of Gazans - all met with Israeli belligerence or outright violence: