A Gaza-bound flotilla carrying humanitarian aid and pro-Palestinian activists including environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg departed Barcelona again on Monday, several hours after winds forced it to return to the Spanish port, according to Agence France-Presse journalists at the scene.
Around 20 vessels left the Spanish city on Sunday aiming to “open a humanitarian corridor and end the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people” amid the Israel-Gaza war, said the Global Sumud Flotilla – sumud being the Arabic term for “resilience”.
But “due to unsafe weather conditions, we conducted a sea trial and then returned to port to allow the storm to pass”, the organisation said in a statement, without specifying when exactly the boats returned to Barcelona.
“We made this decision to prioritise the safety and well-being of all participants and to safeguard the success of our mission.”
Organisers said they were especially concerned about the risk the weather posed to the smaller boats.
Spain’s national weather agency AEMET had issued warnings of rainfall and strong storms for the northeastern region of Catalonia which includes Barcelona.
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