A humanitarian fleet named Global Sumud is nearing Egypt’s northern shores, undeterred by warnings of interception. The organisers say the flotilla has reached waters off Marsa Matrouh on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast and is now heading toward the sea lanes north of Alexandria. The convoy currently comprises over forty vessels and expects to sail into hazardous zones within days.

According to the organisers, the lead ships, OHWAYLA and ALL IN, are now about 366 nautical miles from Gaza, with an estimated arrival in merely three to four days. Two additional vessels recently joined the fleet, raising the total to forty-four. The flotilla will soon approach a “high-risk zone,” the organisers cautioned, and have warned that aggression by Israeli forces remains a looming possibility as they advance toward the Gazan coast.

One of the flotilla’s vessels, scheduled to depart on 1 October, is designated to carry over 100 international journalists and medical professionals toward Gaza. The mission seeks to deliver critical medical and humanitarian supplies into a territory long cut off by stringent blockade measures. Since March, aid entry points into Gaza have been sealed, deepening an already dire humanitarian crisis. Past aid ships have been intercepted, boarded, and confiscated, with their crews expelled, a practice many observers equate with maritime seizure.

In recent months, Gaza has been subjected to relentless bombardment. The conflict has left vast swathes of the enclave in ruins, with catastrophic civilian tolls and a mounting humanitarian disaster. As the flotilla advances, international attention intensifies, with the crew urging global solidarity and vigilance at this precarious moment.