Luxembourg's Abdessmad Taqui, who was sailing on Mawal, returned to Luxembourg on Thursday evening, following a break to the boat's mast that cannot be repaired in time to join the rest of the Gaza aid flotilla.

Abdessmad Taqui returned to Luxembourg yesterday evening at 10.55pm on a Luxair flight, to a welcome from supporters at Findel Airport.

Mawal, the boat on which Abdessamad sailed from Tunis together with other flotilla participants, suffered a mast break last Friday and cannot be repaired in time to rejoin the rest of the flotilla. This is despite the efforts of both the organisers and the boat’s crew to fix it.

Meanwhile, Nora Rosa Fellens Huberty is on boat Johny M, which is expected to rejoin the rest of the flotilla early Friday morning. The boat is visible on the 'Tracker' on the Global Sumud Flotilla website.

Hostile activities from Israeli authorities

On Tuesday night, volunteers of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) – whose aim is to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza – reported explosions, drone swarms, and signal jamming, though no casualties were mentioned in the respective statement.

However, the GSF is expecting further drone attacks and possibly other hostile actions from what the "Israeli occupation forces". The statement also speaks of a warning from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Israeli authorities might soon intervene harshly, pressuring the boats to turn back, and even label the participants as "terrorists".

The GSF spokespeople also note that Israeli authorities would be falsely attempting to link the GSF to Hamas, underlining that the GSF is a purely humanitarian and non-violent initiative. Its stated and ongoing goal is to reach the Gaza Strip in order to deliver humanitarian aid and to break the blockade imposed by Israel.

The Israeli authorities have reportedly proposed that the flotilla unload its humanitarian aid in the port of Ashkelon. However, the suggestion of "handing over aid to the genocidal authorities responsible for the famine is at best cynical", as the statement notes.

The statement thus argues that the Global Sumud Flotilla "cannot accept this proposal, as it is completely contrary to its goals of breaking the blockade and stopping the ongoing genocide".

Attached to the statement is a letter from European leaders Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa, who call on governments of all EU member states to organise and guarantee the active protection of the flotilla. This letter was also signed by elected officials from Luxembourg, including MEP Tilly Metz and MP Sam Tanson of The Greens, as well as MP Yves Cruchten of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers Party (LSAP).

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