Handala Flotilla Crew Kidnapped by Israeli Forces – Gaza Siege Must End

I write to you today not only as the Co-Director of Nonviolence International, but as a Palestinian and an activist devastated by the news we have just received.

The Handala Flotilla — a nonviolent mission carrying humanitarian aid and global solidarity to the people of Gaza — was illegally intercepted in international waters, and its crew has been kidnapped and taken hostage by Israeli forces.

Those taken are:

• Ange Sahuquet – French engineer and solidarity worker
• Braedon Peluso – American mariner and peace activist
• Christian (Chris) Smalls – American labor organizer and Amazon union leader
• Huwaida Arraf – Palestinian-American human rights lawyer and flotilla coordinator
• Jacob Berger – American Jewish actor and activist
• Justine Kempf – French nurse with Médecins du Monde
• Robert Martin – Australian human rights advocate
• Vigdis (Vigidis) Bjorvand – Norwegian peace activist
• Chloé Fiona Ludden – British-French scientist and former UN staffer
• Antonio Mazzeo – Italian educator and anti-militarism researcher
  Antonio La Picirella – Italian grassroots organizer
• Tan Safi – Australian healthcare worker and Gaza advocate
• Hatem Aouini – Tunisian educator and activist
• Gabrielle Cathala – French parliamentarian and humanitarian
• Emma Fourreau – French-Swedish human rights advocate
• Frank Romano – American-French international lawyer and author
• Bob (Suberi) Suberi – American Jewish war veteran and peace advocate
• Santiago González Vallejo – Spanish economist and trade unionist
  Mohamed El Bakkali – Moroccan journalist with Al Jazeera
• Waad Al Musa – Iraqi-American journalist with Al Jazeera
  

These individuals came from different nations, cultures, and faiths. What united them was a shared commitment to humanity and a refusal to look away. These were unarmed civilians — activists, doctors, journalists, and human rights defenders — whose only goal was to reach a population enduring one of the most horrific genocides of our time.

The situation in Gaza is catastrophic beyond words. Entire neighborhoods have been flattened. Hospitals have been systematically targeted and destroyed. People are being buried alive under rubble. Famine has been weaponized as a tool of war. Children are dying from malnutrition, dehydration, and trauma. Thousands of families have been wiped out entirely, their names erased from civil registries because no one remains to carry them. Over 70,000 have already been killed, with tens of thousands still missing or presumed dead. And yet, the siege continues.

This is not just a humanitarian crisis. It is a genocide unfolding before the eyes of the world, calculated and cruel, made possible by decades of impunity and global silence.

The Handala sailed as an act of nonviolent resistance. A direct response to the ongoing, brutal siege that has imprisoned over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza for nearly two decades. Its name invokes the spirit of Palestinian steadfastness — a refusal to give up dignity, even under the most extreme oppression.  And for this, they were taken.

This is not just an attack on a boat. It is an attack on the very idea that civilians have a right to resist injustice nonviolently. It is an attempt to criminalize compassion and solidarity.

We demand the immediate release of the Handala crewand an end to the deadly blockade on Gaza. Now is not the time for polite outrage. It is time to raise our voices. Share this. Speak out. Act. Let the world know: we will not be silent as genocide continues. We will not look away while nonviolent peacemakers are taken hostage.

In grief, in solidarity, and in relentless nonviolence,
Sami Awad
Co-Director, Nonviolence International

P.S. International solidarity and witness in the occupied Palestinian territories continues to be needed more than any time. We ask you to support Unarmed Civilian Protection in Palestine.

Nonviolence International
https://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/