New aid flotilla nears Gaza coast, with Greta Thunberg and a Jewish activist on board

A view of Turkish Red Crescent providing food and medical aid to the Global Sumud Flotilla, which sets sail to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza, on Sept. 29, 2025. Photo by Orhan Fatih Doan/Anadolu via Getty Images

(JTA) — Israel is preparing to intercept another boatload of activists who are attempting to sail to Gaza to deliver aid to the Palestinians besieged by war there.

The interception is expected to take place before and during Yom Kippur, the Jewish holiday that begins at sundown on Wednesday, and a Jewish activist on board the flotilla, called Sumud, says the timing has given him added motivation.

“I believe that the timing of our flotilla is not coincidental. On the contrary, I believe it is a blessing that we are approaching interception at the onset of Yom Kippur — our annual day of atonement — which calls on us to reflect on our sins, and what can be done to repair them in the spirit of tikkun olam,” wrote David Adler in a statement on X.

The latest flotilla, containing 47 boats carrying more than 500 people, including the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, set sail from Spain, Italy and other ports in recent weeks and now is nearing the nautical border in the Mediterranean that begins Israeli waters.

The last time a flotilla reached that point, in June, Israeli naval vessels blocked the ship from proceeding and arrested the 11 passengers, who also included Thunberg. The new attempt is much larger and Israel has deployed its navy to intervene again, raising the prospect of a more significant confrontation at sea.

Italy and Spain had sent ships to escort the flotilla but called them back as the group has neared Israeli waters, where Israel has imposed a blockade that it says is needed for security reasons. Israeli Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, facing a political crisis over the flotilla, urged the group to turn back, saying it could risk interfering with a proposal to end the war offered by Israel and the United States.

Israel claims that the activists have received support from Hamas, which it has been battling in Gaza since Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023. As part of its operations, Israel has at times blocked and limited aid from entering Gaza, saying that doing so was needed to pressure Hamas. The decisions have contributed to a grim humanitarian situation for the enclave’s 2 million residents, who are almost entirely displaced from their homes.

Adler, a former Rhodes Scholar and the co-director of Progressive International, wrote that his grandfather was a member of the Nazi resistance in France and that other members of his family had been killed in the Holocaust. He urged Jews around the world to join him in “redefining their approach to atonement” on Yom Kippur.

“Yom Kippur is a day of fasting, a way to manifest our atonement in physical form. But for the last two years, the starving people of Gaza have had no choice but to forgo their daily bread,” Adler wrote. “If Israeli forces intercept us on Yom Kippur, then let them see what true atonement looks like. Not fasting in comfort while starving their neighbors. Not praying in safety while dropping bombs over their heads. Atonement means action.”

Supporters of the flotilla have been demonstrating on their behalf in their home countries. Israel plans to arrest the activists and tow their boats to Israeli ports — though government sources have told Israeli media that due to the number of boats, some may be sunk at sea.