Ships from Turkey with humanitarian aid for Gaza denied right to sail, flags removed

Vessels attempting to access humanitarian aid from Turkey to Gaza have been denied the right to sail. according to To the Associated Press.

“On Thursday afternoon, the Free Fleet Federation was contacted by the Guinea-Bissau International Ship Registry (GBISR) requesting an inspection of our lead ship, Akdenes,” the Free Fleet Federation, a group supporting the vessel, said in a statement. Ta. Said in a press release on Saturday.

“This was a highly unusual request, as our ship had already passed all necessary inspections. Nevertheless, we agreed,” the release continues. “Inspectors arrived on Thursday evening. On Friday afternoon, before the inspection was complete, GBISR, in an overtly political move, ordered the Freedom Fleet Coalition to destroy two Freedom Fleet ships, one of which was ours. announced the removal of the Guinea-Bissau flag from a cargo ship (already loaded). Over 5,000 tons of life-saving aid was provided to Palestinians in Gaza.

“Without a flag, we cannot sail,” the Free Fleet Coalition said in a statement, accusing Guinea-Bissau of being “complicit in Israel’s deliberate starvation, illegal siege and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.”

Last week, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) authorized The Hill to work with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea.

“This is a complex operation requiring coordination between many partners and our discussions are ongoing. The safety and security of humanitarian workers across Gaza is critical to the delivery of assistance and we remain committed to We continue to advocate for measures that provide greater guarantees to humanitarian workers,” a USAID spokesperson said in a statement.

It added that U.S. and WFP officials are working on ways to provide aid to Palestinian civilians “in an independent, neutral and impartial manner.”