The Global Sumud Flotilla carrying aid to the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip has been forced to turn back due to poor weather, according to a statement by the group and sources travelling with the mission.

The flotilla said on X that strong winds on Sunday of more than 30 knots (55.6 kilometres per hour, or 34.5 miles per hour) on the Mediterranean Sea could have posed a problem for smaller boats in the convoy.

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“The decision was made by the [flotilla] steering commission … to turn back towards Barcelona’s La Vela port, where they arrived after 22:00 (10pm, or 20:00 GMT),” Al Jazeera’s Mauricio Morales said while reporting from the Familia, part of the flotilla.

The decision to turn back was taken about three hours earlier, Morales added.

The flotilla, which had set off from Barcelona on Sunday, said on X that it conducted a sea trial and made the decision to return to port to allow the storm to pass.

According to Morales, a second attempt to set off is expected on Monday.

The flotilla

The flotilla comprises dozens of small civilian vessels carrying volunteers and humanitarian supplies.

It planned to meet up with a second wave of vessels in Tunisia on Thursday, but that plan has now been slightly delayed.

This is the third aid flotilla of its kind in recent months to attempt to break the Israeli siege on Gaza.

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Previous attempts have been unsuccessful with Israeli naval forces illegally intercepting the boats in international waters.

Organisers said the Global Sumud Flotilla is the largest maritime mission to Gaza, bringing together more than 50 ships and delegations from at least 44 countries.

Other than the 20-some boats leaving Barcelona, more are expected to join from across the Mediterranean in the coming days, including from Tunisia and Sicily.

The volunteers

This flotilla is organised by four major coalitions that have participated in previous land and sea efforts to Gaza: the Global Movement to Gaza, Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Maghreb Sumud Flotilla and Sumud Nusantara.

Volunteers hail from countries that include Australia, Brazil, Colombia, South Africa and numerous European states. According to organisers, participants are unaffiliated with any government or political party.

On board the flotilla are Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, former Mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau Ballano, Irish actor Liam Cunningham and Spanish actor Eduard Fernandez.

Many of the people involved have been part of past flotilla efforts.

The coalition’s steering committee includes a number of high-profile activists and figures, such as Palestinian activist Saif Abukeshek, human rights activist Yasemin Acar, historian Kleoniki Alexopoulou, activist Marouan Ben Guettaia, human rights activist Torkia Chaibi, physicist Maria Elena Delia, activist and social researcher Hayfa Mansouri, social scientist Karen Moynihan, humanitarian Muhammad Nadir al-Nuri, activist Wael Nawar, political scientist and lawyer Melanie Schweizer, Avila and Thunberg.

Previous flotillas have largely been blocked although in 2008 two boats from the Free Gaza Movement reached Gaza.

The movement, founded in 2006 by activists during Israel’s war on Lebanon, went on to launch 31 boats from 2008 to 2016, five of which reached Gaza despite heavy Israeli restrictions.

But since 2010, all attempts have been intercepted or attacked by Israeli forces. In 2010, Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara in international waters. The assault killed 10 activists and injured dozens, leading to global outrage. The ship was carrying humanitarian aid and more than 600 passengers.

Thunberg, Avila and other prominent activists were stopped by Israeli commandos in June when the Madleen was intercepted about 185km (100 nautical miles) from Gaza in international waters.

Gaza’s desperate need

The latest attempts by the activists come as the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsens rapidly.

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Last month, the United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification officially declared famine in areas of the enclave, an assessment that Israel has denied.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army has placed forced displacement orders on residents of Gaza City which is under heavy bombardment after the government approved a plan to seize it.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 63,557 people have been killed and 160,660 others wounded since the war began in October 2023.