Acclaimed Bangladeshi photographer and activist Shahidul Alam said on Thursday afternoon that they continued to sail amid inclement weather as well as intimidation to Gaza with ‘Conscience’ vessel, the largest one in the Global Media Flotilla, although all of the vessels in front of them were already ‘attacked by Israeli occupation forces on Wednesday night.’
‘The ones in the front have already been attacked. We continue on our path to Gaza, undeterred by this intimidation. We will break the siege. Palestine will be free,’ said Shahidul Alam, lone Bangladeshi among about 500 campaigners from across the globe in the mission, in a Facebook video message from the upper deck of ‘Conscience Flotilla’, the last one to sail to Gaza.
He said that storm warnings were coming in from the Greek authorities as they were sailing with aids for the Palestinians in Gaza sieged by Israel.Â
‘We went through a storm last night. The captain increased speed so we could stay ahead of the storm. The storm and the lightening have gone. It has also stopped raining. We are further behind from the rest of the flotillas,’ said Shahidul.
Ekushey Padak-winning photographer and Drik managing director Shahidul Alam departed Dhaka for Italy on September 28 to join the Global Media Flotilla, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s mission to Gaza — the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory.
The Flotilla of around 45 vessels began its voyage past month, with politicians and activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, heading to Gaza, where, the United Nations says, famine has set in, according to an Agence-France-Presse report.
The Israeli navy has intercepted vessel after vessel at sea since Wednesday, after warning the activists against entering waters it says fall under its blockade, with Thunberg’s boat among those stopped from going further, the AFP reported.
The organisers vowed to press on with their bid to break the siege and deliver aid to Gaza despite what they called ‘intimidation’ tactics by the Israeli military, the report mentioned.
