\n<\/p>\n
The armada of about forty vessels is now roughly 1,000 miles from the coast of Gaza.<\/p>\n
The Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla<\/a> has grown in size after the vessels that made up its initial group from Spain joined around twenty vessels from Sicily on Thursday. The flotilla\u2019s vessels and activists come from numerous countries.<\/p>\n The initial group of about twenty ships departed Barcelona on September 1, briefly paused near the island of Minorca, and arrived off the coast of Tunisia on September 7. They have now merged to form a larger armada and are currently about 60 miles off the coast of Sicily, heading toward the eastern Mediterranean.<\/p>\n The armada is made up mostly of sailing boats, though several larger craft are also participating. The group claimed that while in Tunisia, they had been threatened by drones<\/a>. It is unclear whether there is evidence of this, aside from videos showing flaming objects falling near one of the vessels, named Family. That vessel appeared to be unharmed.<\/p>\n The flotilla remained off the coast of the Tunis suburb of Sidi Bou Said for five days before sailing to Bizerte on Tunisia\u2019s north coast. On Tuesday, they departed Tunisian waters and made the crossing to Italy.<\/p>\n In Italy, a group of roughly 20 vessels had left a port north of Syracuse and sailed to Portopalo, on the southern coast, on Tuesday. The two groups combined on Thursday, paused off the southern coast of Sicily, and then headed east.<\/p>\n