(MENAFN) Hungarian-Canadian physician and Holocaust survivor Gabor Mate expressed his support for the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, set to depart from Barcelona this Sunday to deliver humanitarian aid.

“I’m here to give whatever support I can to that flotilla. I wish I could be there with you,” Mate said in a social media video. He criticized Israel for previously intercepting aid convoys at sea, describing the actions as piracy and noting the arrest of participants.

This year’s flotilla unites four initiatives: the Maghreb Sumud Flotilla, the Global Movement to Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, and Sumud Nusantara. The first convoy will depart from Spain on Sunday, followed by a second from Tunisia on September 4.

Mate, an expert on childhood development and trauma, called the situation in Gaza profoundly distressing, saying it has “traumatized and broken the hearts of millions around the world.” He described the flotilla as a gesture of solidarity and support for those suffering, rather than a political statement against anyone.

He concluded by encouraging the participants: “My heart is certainly with you, my thoughts are with you, and we’ll be watching you.”

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