Abdullah Asiran
01 May 2026•Update: 01 May 2026
A protest was held Thursday in the Dutch city of Utrecht following reports that Israeli forces attacked the Global Sumud humanitarian aid flotilla in international waters as it was making its way to Gaza.
Demonstrators gathered at the city’s main railway station to voice opposition to the incident.
Protesters marched through the city before staging a sit-in at a key intersection used by public buses, temporarily blocking traffic.
The action caused a disruption, with multiple buses delayed and long queues forming.
Participants carried banners saying “Stop the genocide in Gaza” and held signs with slogans including “Boycott Israel” and “Help break the blockade.”
One protester, Emmy Vonk, told Anadolu that she had previously joined the flotilla in October 2025 to deliver food aid and had been detained by Israeli forces.
“I was detained there as well. It was really not pleasant. They violated our human rights. Now they are doing it again. And the real question is: how much longer will we allow Israel to continue this?” she said.
Drawing attention to Israel’s obstruction of food aid to Gaza, Vonk said: “The genocide is still ongoing. People are dying of hunger every day, and people really need medicine.”
Emphasizing that Israel commits war crimes every day, she added: “We believe this must stop now, and everyone should take to the streets and raise their voice against it.”
The first ships of the flotilla, carrying humanitarian aid, set sail from Barcelona on April 12, while the main fleet set sail from the Italian island of Sicily on April 26, aiming to break Israel's years-long blockade of Gaza.
Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, leaving the territory’s 2.4 million people on the verge of starvation.
The Israeli army launched a brutal two-year offensive on Gaza in October 2023, killing more than 72,000 people, injuring over 172,000 and causing massive destruction across the besieged territory.
