Editor’s note: On Oct. 1, the Global Sumud Flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli military. The read that ongoing story, go here.

By Darrell Kirk

Sounder contributor

As dawn breaks over the Mediterranean, Jasmine Ikeda sits aboard her vessel, reflecting on a journey that has taken her from the quiet waters of Orcas Island to the front lines of one of the world’s most contentious humanitarian missions. The experienced mariner is part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a coalition attempting to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza — a mission that has already come under literal fire.

“Right now I’m on the boat and the sea is calm and the sun is out and it’s quite peaceful,” Ikeda said during an end-to-end encrypted phone call interview with The Islands’ Sounder. But this tranquility belies the danger she and her fellow activists have already faced, including drone attacks that have targeted their vessels with what she describes as “fire bombs.”

The Global Sumud Flotilla describes itself as “the largest civilian maritime mission organized to break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza.” Coordinated by activists from over 40 countries, the flotilla aims to break what organizers term Israel’s illegal blockade, create a humanitarian corridor and deliver aid directly to Gaza’s shores.

“The mission of the global flotilla is to break the siege, to create a human corridor and to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza and to the people of Palestine, and to be in solidarity with them,” Ikeda explains.

But the flotilla has faced escalating challenges. On Sept. 4, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to designate flotilla activists as “terrorists” and seize their boats. Five days later, the threats became reality when drone attacks began targeting vessels.

On Sept. 9, a boat called the “Alma” was attacked by a drone while docked in Tunisian waters, sustaining fire damage to its top deck. This marked “the second such attack in two days,” according to flotilla statements.

For Ikeda, these attacks represent “scare tactics.” She draws parallels to other instances of what she sees as intimidation, referencing recent attacks by the Trump administration on Venezuelan fishing boats that killed three people.

“Those two drone attacks tightened the Tunisian security because they threatened their sovereignty and made everything for us a lot harder and took a lot more time,” she said. Despite the dangers, Ikeda’s resolve remains unshaken. “The drone attacks are scare tactics … I don’t really feel fear for some reason. I trust my gut — in Hawaiian I call it my na’au — and my na’au guides me. What I feel in my gut causes me not to fear anything so far as this mission goes.”

This isn’t Ikeda’s first major voyage. The experienced sailor has completed several long-distance journeys, including a recent trip from Friday Harbor to Maui aboard the traditional vessel Nahiku, working alongside grand master navigator Sesario Sewralur and Captain ‘Aunofo Havea, whom Ikeda describes as “the real life Moana” and “the first female captain of Polynesia, from Tonga.”

The flotilla came together quickly — Ikeda estimates the operation was organized in just two to three months. Much of the work has involved basic boat maintenance and repairs.

“From the time I arrived until I left, we spent every hour working on boats, getting them as ready as possible. Those were very long days,” she recalls. “I’ve met so many incredible, hard-working, passionate people volunteering their whole days and nights to work on these boats to try to get them ready.”

The flotilla’s strategy emphasizes using smaller vessels rather than large ships. As organizers explain: “Large ships are expensive, more vulnerable to bureaucratic pressure, and slow to deploy. Our decentralized model—with 50 boats—builds resilience, distributes responsibility, and amplifies grassroots leadership.”

The international nature of the mission has created remarkable connections. Ikeda describes meeting “People from all over the world — there’s Nicole from Ecuador, there’s Nina from Denmark who’s half Moroccan and half Peruvian, there’s Clara from Spain who’s a pianist.”

One of the most tense moments came when Tunisian military officials ordered their vessel to leave port immediately. With the captain not aboard, Ikeda found herself the commanding officer.

“The military comes and says that it’s illegal for us to be there and that we have to leave … I didn’t know what to do,” she recalled.

The encounter with drones came while traveling from Mallorca toward Tunisia. “I saw three different drones—a low-flying, really fast green drone, which I think was the coast guard, and then a quadcopter, which was a larger drone with a white light that was low-flying and humming,” she describes. The white drone approached their boat before being deterred by what appeared to be official coast guard activity.

When asked about witnessing the fire-bombing of other boats, Ikeda confirms the attacks but maintains a matter-of-fact tone: “Some of our boats have been attacked with these fire bombs, which can be extinguished with a fire extinguisher. If someone had been nearby during the attack, they would have been burned, but the attackers are intentionally targeting the boats in a way designed to intimidate and influence the political climate.”

The flotilla has claimed legal justification for its mission, stating that “this action is legal under international law” and that “the Israeli occupation’s blockade of Gaza constitutes collective punishment, a violation of the Geneva Conventions.”

For the people of Orcas Island who know and support Ikeda, she has a message filled with gratitude: “I feel a lot of love thinking about everyone, and I feel so grateful to know that I have people who are thinking of me, sending me prayers and love and support. I just want to tell everyone that I love them too and that I’m carrying those prayers with me to Palestine.”

Orcas Island resident Brooke Budner, who represents Jewish Voices for Peace, praised Ikeda’s commitment.

“I think that Jas is incredibly brave and courageous for deciding to put her body and soul on the line and to go this close to potential danger and violence to stand up for what she believes in and what so many people around this globe believe in, which is that genocide is absolutely unacceptable and that it should be stopped,” she said. “And if governments are not going to take the initiative with the power that they have to stop it, then ordinary citizens have to take direct action.”

When she first saw the application for the flotilla mission, Ikeda felt an immediate calling.

“When I initially got a reply, I had a full 24 hours of anxiety to figure out if I was actually serious about going,” she said. “After 12 hours, I knew that if they accepted my application, I would go. To combine activism and crossing a sea — it was the sweet spot for me.”

As the flotilla continues toward its ultimate destination off Gaza’s shores, where Palestinian boats are meant to collect the humanitarian aid, Ikeda remains focused on the larger purpose. The final handover will take place in the waters themselves, rather than on shore, for both safety and symbolic reasons.

“The waters have no borders, and in the same way, Israel is an illegal occupation that is creating a genocide,” she says. “To hand the aid over on the waters keeps the energy pure in that way.”

Looking toward the broader impact of their mission, Ikeda emphasizes the importance of global awareness.

“The more awareness is spread around the world, the more people hear what’s going on, the more people engage with this, the more we believe we can break the siege and create the human corridor and end the genocide. I read that 124 countries in the UN voted for Palestine to be considered a state, with only 12 abstaining and 10 voting no. There are tangible ripple effects that have been happening,” she said.

As she continues across the Mediterranean toward an uncertain reception, Ikeda’s message remains one of hope: “Don’t give up hope, believe that it’s possible, and tell as many people as possible. There are a lot more of us than there are of them, and if people truly believe, that energy will ripple out and have large impacts.”

Whether the Global Sumud Flotilla will successfully reach Gaza’s shores remains unclear. What is certain is that Ikeda, carrying the prayers and support of her island community, will continue sailing toward that goal despite the mounting dangers ahead.