Greta Thunberg‘s flotilla bound for Gaza has descended into chaos after pro-Palestine activists quit the convoy when they learnt LGBTQ+ campaigners were on board, it has been claimed.
The 22-year-old Swedish eco-protestor has also reportedly left her leadership role due to disagreements among organisers, but she will stay onboard as a participant volunteer.
On September 1, around 20 vessels displaying Palestinian flags and carrying some 350 pro-Palestinian activists departed from Barcelona.
Two weeks later, the convoy stopped off for a few days in Tunisia to pick up more activists and humanitarian supplies before it set sail again.
The Global Sumud Flotilla’s (GSF) stated mission is to ‘break Israel‘s illegal siege on Gaza’ and deliver aid supplies to Palestinians.
But the convoy’s journey to the enclave has been anything but smooth, with organisers claiming two vessels were targeted in a drone attack outside the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said earlier in the month.
Now, political differences have allegedly plagued the leadership of the GSF, with reports that Khaled Boujemaa, the Tunisian coordinator of the convoy, defected after learning about the presence of queer activists on board.
In two video streams posted on social media, Khaled Boujemaa is understood to have complained about the addition of members of the Tunisian LGBTQ+ community to the convoy
The cause of his frustration was allegedly the participation of activist Saif Ayadi on the flotilla, a ‘communist queer militant’ who boarded the convoy when it stopped off in Tunisia
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and other Global Sumud Flotilla members wait on their boat to depart to Gaza from Barcelona, Spain September 1, 2025
In two video streams posted on social media, he is understood to have complained about the addition of members of the Tunisian LGBTQ+ community to the convoy – activists who joined the flotilla when it stopped at the northern port of Bizerte.
‘We were lied to about the identity of some participants in the vanguard of the flotilla, I accuse the organisers of having hidden this aspect from us,’ he said, according to a translation by Le Courrier de l’Atlas.
The cause of his frustration was allegedly the participation of activist Saif Ayadi on the flotilla, a ‘communist queer militant’ who boarded the convoy when it stopped off in Tunisia.
Another prominent activist from the flotilla, Mariem Meftah, took to social media to voice her opposition to LGBTQ+ activists ‘taking advantage’ of the pro-Palestine cause, one that is ‘sacred to us as Muslims’.
‘Everyone’s sexual orientation is a private matter… But being a “queer” activist means touching on society’s values and taking a path that risks placing my children and loved ones in a situation we reject,’ she wrote, according to a translation.
‘I refuse to have my son offered a sex change at school… I call on everyone to save the situation and repair the mistake made against the people who gave their blood so that this flotilla can see the light of day.’
On the same day, presenter Samir Elwafi expressed a similar sentiment.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg participates in a demonstration of support for the Global Sumud Flotilla
‘Palestine is first and foremost the cause of Muslims, and it cannot be separated from its spiritual and religious dimension — with Jerusalem at the heart of its symbols and destiny.
‘So why involve in it dubious activists serving other agendas that do not concern us and have nothing to do with Gaza?’
Thunberg reportedly stepped down from the GSF leadership in the midst of the drama, telling Il Manifesto that she believes that the committee was communicating too much about internal affairs and not enough on the ‘genocide in Palestine’.
Her name was apparently removed from the list of board members on the mission’s website, and she was allegedly spotted wheeling her suitcase along a Tunis dock to transfer from the Steering Committee Family boat to another vessel, the Alma.
She will remain onboard the flotilla as an organiser and a participant volunteer, it is understood.
‘I very much believe in the goal of this humanitarian mission, as well as the power and symbolism in the mobilisation we see worldwide for a free Palestine,’ Thunberg told the newspaper.
‘We all have a role to play in ensuring these movements remain decentralised, de-colonial and with a clear focus on the purpose of the mission, which is Gaza and Palestine.
‘My role here will not be in the steering committee, but as an organiser and participant, as I think I will be able to contribute better,’ she added.
Earlier in September, GSF organisers said two of their vessels had been struck by drones at the Tunisian port, releasing video footage of the purported attacks.
But the Tunisian interior ministry denied the claims, saying they ‘have no basis in truth’ and that a fire broke out on the vessel itself.
Claims of a drone are ‘completely unfounded’, the national guard said in a statement on its official Facebook page, indicating that the fire may have been caused by a cigarette.
The flotilla was forced to turn back within hours of its departure in Barcelona due to stormy weather which later subsided.
The group said on Monday that its ships were 715 nautical miles from Gaza, adding that its Greek fleet is expected to join ‘in the coming days’.
The maritime convoy, with delegations from 44 countries, is claimed to be the largest attempt to date to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip by sea, which has now lasted 18 years.
It is carrying food, water and medicine to the Strip, where the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system said that 514,000 people – close to a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza – are experiencing famine.
Israel denies that Gaza is facing a starvation crisis and accused the flotilla of serving the Hamas terror group.
The Daily Mail contacted the Global Sumud Flotilla and Greta Thunberg for comment.
