As Gaza continues to suffocate under a months-long Israeli blockade, Mauritania has announced its official participation in a humanitarian flotilla sailing in solidarity with the besieged population. This symbolic yet defiant act is part of a wider Maghreb initiative aiming to challenge Israel’s stranglehold on over two million Palestinians trapped in the coastal enclave.

The maritime mission, supported by activists from across the Maghreb,Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, and now Mauritania, is expected to depart in late summer. Its organisers hope to pierce not only the physical barriers around Gaza, but also the global silence that has enabled the ongoing starvation and bombardment of a civilian population.

This initiative follows a land convoy that crossed North Africa last month, carrying messages of resilience and unity. Among the participants was renowned Mauritanian poet and activist Dr. Mohamed El-Amin Ould Mohamed El-Moustapha, who travelled with the convoy to the edge of the besieged territory.

Behind this flotilla is a growing coalition of international organisations demanding an end to collective punishment in Gaza. With famine already gripping large parts of the Strip, and with no functioning humanitarian corridors, the mission has taken on an urgent moral dimension.

While the flotilla may not end the siege alone, its organisers hope it will reignite global conscience and remind the world that Gaza has not been forgotten.