More than 500 Turkish organisations have pledged support for a new international maritime initiative aimed at breaking the Israeli blockade on Gaza, according to organisers of the effort.
Fatih Varol, a board member of the ‘Global Sumud (Resilience) Flotilla’, said the initiative has received broad backing from Turkish groups, representing tens of millions of supporters.
Speaking from the Italian port of Syracuse, where the flotilla vessels have docked ahead of continuing their journey, Varol said the Turkish public ‘deeply feels the suffering of Gaza’ and stands in solidarity with Palestinians.
He added that the supporting organisations collectively represent between 30 and 40 million people and have contributed millions of dollars in financial aid to the flotilla effort.
The ships arrived in Syracuse, on the island of Sicily, last Thursday after departing from Barcelona on April 12th, en route to Gaza.
The mission aims to deliver humanitarian assistance and challenge the ongoing Israeli blockade.
This marks the second such initiative by the Global Sumud Flotilla.
A previous attempt in September 2025 ended when Israeli forces intercepted the vessels in international waters the following month, detaining hundreds of international activists before deporting them.
Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza since 2007. Following the genocide in the territory since October 2023, around 1.5 million Palestinians, out of a population of approximately 2.4 million, have been left without shelter after widespread destruction of homes.
The enclave continues to face a severe humanitarian and health crisis, exacerbated by restrictions on fuel and medical supplies, as well as acute shortages of essential medicines and equipment.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ministry condemned on Friday the approval by the occupation authorities of a plan to build an ultra-Orthodox religious school in the predominantly Palestinian Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem.
The Ministry stated in a press release that it rejects all systematic Israeli measures and violations aimed at ‘de-Palestinising’ the occupied city, altering its Palestinian identity, and imposing a new illegal fait accompli on the ground by manipulating the historical and legal status of Jerusalem, erasing its identity, and distorting facts.
It affirmed that Israel, the occupying power, has no sovereignty over the city of Jerusalem, and that sovereignty belongs exclusively to the State of Palestine.
It categorically rejected all illegal Israeli measures in Jerusalem, slamming them as a violation not only of international law, but also of the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion, and UN resolutions.
It called on the international community and all relevant international organisations, including UNESCO and the OIC, to adopt a firm stance that would compel Israel, the occupying power, to comply with international law and UN resolutions.
It concluded by reaffirming that Jerusalem is a Palestinian city and the capital of the State of Palestine.
Meanwhile, Israeli military prosecutors are preparing to file espionage charges against two Israeli air force soldiers accused of collaborating with Iranian intelligence, according to Israeli media reports.
Israeli media reported that two suspects, who worked as aircraft technicians on F-15 fighter jets at the Tel Nof airbase near Ashdod, passed sensitive military information to an Iranian handler.
Both face charges of aiding Iran during the US-Israeli aggression against the country, with authorities considering upgrading one case to include treason.
Prosecutors claim the two servicemen were instructed by an Iranian agent to gather intelligence on high-profile Israeli figures, including former chief of staff Herzi Halevi and security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The suspects are also accused of transmitting a technical diagram of an Israeli aircraft engine and photographs revealing the face of an aviation instructor.
Eight additional soldiers stationed at the same base are suspected of having knowledge of the alleged espionage activities but failing to report them to their commanders.
Following the discovery of the security breach, the base commander reportedly convened personnel for an emergency security briefing, revealing that he had been summoned for questioning by the Shin Bet security service.
The case is the latest in a growing pattern of ordinary Israeli settlers allegedly being recruited online by Iran-linked agents.
Last Monday, two young men from the central occupied lands were indicted on similar espionage charges, with prosecutors alleging one had already purchased a ticket to Dubai to meet his Iranian handler.
Iran’s intelligence bodies and law enforcement forces have detained numerous subversive elements amid the aggression, while the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces have confronted the aggressors with waves of decisive and successful retaliatory strikes.
- Palestinian resistance movements and Hezbollah have issued strong condemnations after Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike on the al-Tiri area of southern Lebanon.
The al-Akhbar daily reporter was assassinated in an Israeli strike in the southern town of at-Tiri, where her body was later recovered from the rubble.
According to Lebanese media, Khalil was killed last Wednesday after becoming trapped beneath debris following Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon.
Ali Baraka, head of Hamas’ National Relations Abroad, called the targeted killing a horrendous crime designed to silence voices that expose the atrocities of the Zionist occupiers.
He described the deliberate attacks on journalists as a fully-fledged war crime and a clear sign of Israel’s criminal approach: muzzling free speech, blocking the spread of truth, and hiding its own brutalities.
Baraka noted that the assassination of the al-Akhbar daily journalist occurred in an area where the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is deployed.
That fact, he said, exposes the Tel Aviv regime’s utter disregard for international law, treaties, and humanitarian principles.
He stressed that Israel bears full responsibility for Khalil’s murder and urged the UN, along with international legal and media bodies, to act immediately, to hold Israeli officials accountable and to protect journalists in conflict zones.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) also condemned the killing.
They said: ‘With all feelings of anger and pride, we mourn the loss of Amal Khalil, a journalist for al-Akhbar, who was martyred Wednesday evening in the town of al-Tiri in southern Lebanon, near the border with the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.
‘She was killed in a deliberate Israeli aerial assault while performing her professional duty: Conveying the truth about the brutal crimes the Israeli occupation army is committing against the Lebanese nation and the peoples of the region.’
The PFLP said Khalil’s assassination is another crime added to the Israeli regime’s black record, a regime that has never hesitated to target journalists in a desperate attempt to silence free voices and hide the truth from the world.
They added: ‘However, these crimes will not erase the facts or break the will of the free word. They will only strengthen the resolve of honourable media professionals to continue exposing the occupation’s crimes and its practices, which are a stain on humanity.’
Hezbollah, for its part, strongly condemned the deliberate targeting of Khalil, as well as the wounding of her colleague Zeinab Faraj and the prevention of paramedics from reaching them after they had taken shelter inside a house, before the enemy proceeded to directly strike the building.
‘This act constitutes a fully defined crime in every sense,’ the Lebanese resistance group said in a statement.
‘It confirms the depth of hatred this Zionist entity harbours toward every genuine patriotic Lebanese, regardless of their position or role.’
The assassination, it continued, ‘also reveals the desperate, failed attempts to silence the free voice and break the will of a resistant national media that exposes its crimes and strips away its savage criminal face.’
Hezbollah added: ‘We affirm that the path of free national media will continue to be trodden more steadfastly than ever.
‘The Israeli enemy’s terrorism and missile attacks will never succeed in silencing the voice that speaks loudly for truth and freedom.’
