Boat sets sail from Bristol, aiming to break Israel’s siege of Gaza

Bristol, United Kingdom – A boat has set sail from southern England as part of a flotilla’s efforts to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

Supporters on Sunday gathered at Hannover Quay in Bristol, a city represented by the Greens and known for its progressive spirit, to send off “Kate”, a vessel with Freedom Flotilla activists on board.

Among those bidding the 12 activists farewell were Swee Ang, a doctor and the founder of Medical Aid for Palestinians; the Welsh nurse Leigh Evans, who was seen in footage shared widely online kneeling before Egyptian soldiers in June 2025, pleading to be allowed to cross and deliver aid to Gaza and David Miller , a professor who recently won a legal battle against the University of Bristol over his anti-Zionist views.

Fiacc O Brolchain, the Irish sailor and captain of the vessel who was detained by Israeli forces earlier this year during a previous mission, said his hearing aids were seized while being interrogated. He said he kept repeating to the Israeli soldiers, “I can’t hear you; you took my hearing aids.”

Israel has since 2010 intercepted or attacked every flotilla that has attempted to breach the Gaza blockade, including in international waters.

Frank Romano, a member of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and an international lawyer who has represented Palestinian cases before the International Court of Justice, said that since October 2023, Israeli forces have intercepted and detained more than 75 solidarity ships and boats. He has taken up legal battles to recover them, but has succeeded in retrieving only two vessels.

Romano himself owns “ Handala ”, a vessel named after a character created by the late Palestinian artist Naji al-Ali, that was intercepted and detained in July 2025.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, which Romano said has so far cost $24m and comprises scores of boats in different waves, launched its first mission last year and a much larger one in April.