Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise is sailing with the Global Sumud Flotilla to support a peaceful civilian mission challenging the blockade on Gaza and demanding safe, unhindered humanitarian access.

1 May 2026 update | Two crew members remain kidnapped after Israeli forces attacked and boarded flotilla vessels and abducted more than 175 people

Israeli forces attacked the Global Sumud Flotilla, damaged and disabled flotilla vessels and abducted over 175 people at gunpoint in international waters. Most of the abducted flotilla sailors have now been released, but two are still being held captive. We are calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the two civilians still held captive.

The remaining flotilla vessels have now reached the port of Ierapetra, Greece. The Greenpeace crew on the Arctic Sunrise ensured all remaining vessels were brought safely into port and provided essential assistance. Our role in providing logistical support continues. The Open Arms humanitarian rescue ship is currently retrieving vessels left adrift and is making sure no one is left behind at open sea.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian needs in Gaza remain overwhelming. The goal of the flotilla is to break Israel’s brutal siege of Gaza and deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people who continue to suffer horrific conditions and ongoing deadly attacks.

You can help by contacting your Ministry of Foreign Affairs to urge them to put diplomatic pressure on Israel. Insist on a safe return of the last two civilians and an end to the siege of Gaza. See Global Sumud Flotilla for updates.

30 April 2026 update | Israeli forces intercept and threaten Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters, a number of participants kidnapped

The Israeli military launched a violent intervention against flotilla vessels yesterday evening (April 29), and their attacks continued all night. It started with threatening radio messages and communication jamming, and it continued with the boarding of multiple flotilla boats and the abduction of the people onboard. You can read our press release here.

At this stage, it is still unclear how many boats have been boarded or damaged, how many people kidnapped and what will happen to them. Head here for Global Sumud Flotilla updates.

Our crew and campaign team on the Arctic Sunrise have not been in direct contact with the Israeli attackers, and are all safe. They have been active all night, and are still at work this morning, to guide flotilla vessels towards safer waters and to assess how we can contribute to further rescue work for damaged vessels.

26 April 2026 update | The Arctic Sunrise departs Syracuse, Italy with the Global Sumud Flotilla

The Arctic Sunrise has departed Syracuse, Italy, continuing its journey alongside the Global Sumud Flotilla as the fleet presses east across the Mediterranean. The flotilla now consists of more than 50 ships, making it the largest flotilla ever assembled to attempt to break the siege. More ships are expected to join later.

Together with humanitarian rescue organisation Open Arms, our crew is working around the clock to keep the flotilla moving, performing complex engine and gearbox overhauls, restoring electrical systems, delivering food supplies and transferring doctors between vessels. Our small boat teams are being pushed to the limit with demanding towing operations and rapid-response transfers, getting support where it is most needed.

The ship’s role is clear: to provide technical and operational maritime support to the people-led flotilla and assist the vessels in safely transiting across the Mediterranean before they complete the last 200 nautical miles onto Gaza’s shores.

This is an act of solidarity, practical support and non-violent resistance, rooted in the belief that when governments fail to protect life and uphold international law, people will still come together to act.

This mission builds on earlier flotilla efforts to break the silence around Gaza. In 2024 and 2025, previous flotillas challenged the blockade and drew international attention to the humanitarian crisis. In September 2025, the Sumud Flotilla sailed with 42 boats and 462 people before Israeli forces intercepted and forcibly boarded the vessels about 70 nautical miles off the Gaza coast, cutting communications and jamming signals. 

The 2026 flotilla continues that same spirit of civilian resistance, but on a larger scale and with renewed determination to demand humanitarian access and justice.

Why this matters now – children, medics, journalists, aid workers, humanity

Gaza has been subjected to a scale of death and destruction that is almost impossible to absorb. Between 7 October 2023 and 14 January 2026, 71,439 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and 171,324 injured, according to Gaza health ministry figures reported by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

As of mid-February 2026, around 1.4 million of Gaza’s 2.1 million people were displaced, with many living in roughly 1,000 makeshift sites. Even after the October 2025 “ceasefire” announcement, OCHA said hundreds more Palestinians were killed, with the reported toll since that announcement rising to 689 by late March 2026.

The genocide in Gaza has also been marked by the killing of the very people trying to save lives and tell the world what is happening – aid workers and journalists.

Amnesty International said at least 408 aid workers had been killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023, including at least 280 UNRWA staff and 34 Palestine Red Crescent Society staff. The New Humanitarian described Gaza’s aid worker death toll as unprecedented, noting that in just three months the number of humanitarians killed there exceeded the deadliest year ever recorded globally for aid workers. 

Press freedom groups have described this as the deadliest conflict for journalists since CPJ began recording such data in 1992, and a June 2025 public appeal said nearly 200 journalists had been killed by the Israeli military over 20 months. 

In a small, enclosed territory, that concentration of civilian killing, displacement, hunger and attacks on medics, aid workers and reporters has become a defining feature of the war. And it’s spreading.

As Ghiwa Nakat, executive director of Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa says, “The devastation inflicted on Gaza has become a dangerous doctrine of impunity, now spreading to Lebanon through massacres, relentless destruction, and deepening human suffering. The Greenpeace ship is joining this people-led mission to demand safe, unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza and to challenge the illegal blockade that continues to devastate civilian life. We stand firmly against war crimes, deliberate starvation, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and ecocide. This flotilla is a call to governments around the world to end their silence, protect humanitarian action, and act with urgency and principle to uphold international law, human dignity, and justice.”

War is scarring lives, ecosystems and the region for decades

War does not only destroy homes and families. It poisons land and water, wrecks food systems, leaves mountains of toxic rubble and turns recovery into a struggle that can last for generations.

Analysis estimated that the first 120 days of the war generated a mean 536,410 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, with 90% linked to Israel’s bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza. The same analysis highlighted heavy metal contamination and severe damage to air, water and land, and found that by May 2024 around 57% of Gaza’s cropland had been damaged.

Across the region, war and militarisation are tearing through ecosystems, livelihoods and public health, from Gaza to Lebanon, Iran, and beyond. That is why peace, justice and environmental protection cannot be separated: a liveable future depends on all three.

What you can do

Follow the Global Sumud Flotilla and share verified updates, especially on Instagram and Facebook, so that Gaza is not pushed out of view.

Support calls for a permanent ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian access, a comprehensive arms embargo and an end to the illegal occupation of Palestine.

You can take action by signing petitions, including:

• Greenpeace Nordic – Tell Equinor to end the partnership with Ithaca Energy and cancel the Rosebank oil field
• Greenpeace UK – Stop British-made weapons being used in Gaza
• Greenpeace Spain – No más armas para el genocidio en Gaza
• Greenpeace Aotearoa – Call for sanction on Israel
• Greenpeace MENA – Join MENA voices calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza
• Greenpeace Canada – Tell Canada to stop arming Israel
• Greenpeace Indonesia – Global Sumud Flotilla: Let’s break the siege
• Amnesty International – Lift the blockade on Gaza and stop the genocide
• Doctors Without Borders – Stop the genocide. Let Gaza live

The Global Sumud Flotilla details how its supporters can play a crucial role by: 

• Organising actions and demonstrations 
• Amplifying verified mission updates 
• Pressuring governments to uphold international law 
• Supporting Palestinian-led relief and reconstruction efforts.

With mass displacement, shattered infrastructure and urgent humanitarian needs still defining daily life in Gaza, every bit of solidarity makes a difference.

Fair winds and following seas to all sailing for peace and justice.

Pujarini Sen is project lead for the Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise ship joining the Global Sumud Flotilla

Amsterdam, Netherlands – Shell made a US$6.9 billion first quarter profit[1], more than double last quarter’s, as the US-Israeli war on Iran drives oil prices above US$100 a barrel, delivering windfall profits to the fossil fuel industry and repeating a pattern last seen when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Together, Europe’s four largest oil majors – Shell, TotalEnergies, BP and Equinor[2][3][4] – reported more than US$18 billion of adjusted earnings after tax in Q1 2026, up 80% quarter-on-quarter. They swiftly moved to reward shareholders: TotalEnergies raised its dividend by 5.9% and doubled buybacks, and Shell announced a 5% dividend increase alongside a US$3 billion share buyback.

Rebecca Newsom, Global Political Lead at Greenpeace International said: “Every time a crisis hits, the bill for energy, food, transport, and rent goes to ordinary folks and families. Meanwhile, the same companies that built our dependence on fossil fuels are reporting higher profits and rewarding their shareholders and CEOs. This system is broken but it is designed this way – and it will continue like this until governments decide that protecting people matters more than protecting oil company profits.”

“More than 50 countries just reiterated their commitment to ending coal, oil and gas dependence at the world’s First Conference on Transitioning Away From Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia. Record levels of solar and wind power have helped keep the lights on while gas supplies have been blockaded. The solutions exist. What we need now is for governments to stop letting fossil fuel corporations off the hook, and start permanently increasing taxes on their profits so we can build renewable energy systems that protect people and reduce bills.” 

“When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Big Oil’s profits jumped 125% over the course of that year. Governments introduced temporary windfall taxes that delivered a fraction of what was promised, because the industry shifted profits out of reach. Three years later, another fossil fuel crisis has returned, and the same companies are laughing all the way to the bank. Enough is enough: governments must introduce permanent surtaxes on oil and gas company profits now to reduce our dependence on this damaging industry altogether and raise hundreds of billions for a safe future powered by renewables.” Newsom said.

Greenpeace International is calling on governments to introduce new permanent taxes on oil and gas profits – applied to all profits, not just temporary windfalls – and back a global polluter profits tax under the UN Tax Convention, with binding rules to prevent profit shifting to tax havens. Revenues must support households facing rising bills, fund renewable energy projects, and support the most climate-impacted communities around the world.

ENDS

Photos are available in the Greenpeace Media Library – among them, see Greenpeace projection action at Shell’s London HQ and a Shell petrol station.

Notes:
[1] Shell Q1 2026 results
[2] TotalEnergies Q1 2026 results
[3] BP Q1 2026 results
[4] Equinor Q1 2026 results

Contacts:

Franck Mithieux, Communications Specialist, Greenpeace International, +33 (0)6 73 89 23 19 (Signal, Whatsapp), franck.mithieux@greenpeace.org 

Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org

Ever heard of the 8-hour movement? In the 1880s, workers in the US protested against dangerously long days, demanding “eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, and eight hours for what we will.” Their bravery was met with violence, and May 1 became a global day of solidarity to remember those who fell in the struggle for dignity and safety. That was 140 years ago. While in some places we have won the weekend and the abolition of child labor, just working conditions are still not met and so workers are still standing together, demanding better. Here are five ways that demonstrate how climate justice is also worker justice.

The fossil fuel lock-in: A century of control

The demand for worker justice is more urgent than ever because, as workers were rising in the late 1800s, so were the “robber barons” and the engineered dependence on fossil fuels. This system was locked in to power industrial growth, but it created a fragile world where our daily needs are held hostage by the volatility of war. Today, geopolitical shocks and corporate greed dictate the rising cost of our energy, transport, and food.

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Crisis is a business model

While the war in Iran and the closure of the Hormuz Strait takes the lives of innocent civilians and causes workers everywhere to face a “cost-of-working” crisis, oil giants remain insulated. As shipping chokepoints fail, prices soar—eating up wages and leaving less for rent and healthcare. This isn’t an accident; it’s the system working as designed. By keeping the world dependent on a resource that is easy to monopolize, the polluting elite builds crisis into their business model.

Breaking the “Jobs vs. Climate” myth

For too long, we’ve been told that we must choose between a healthy planet and a stable job. This is a false choice, engineered by the same polluting elite who benefit from keeping us divided. In reality, the fossil fuel industry has spent years automating jobs and cutting worker protections to maximize shareholder returns, all while leaving communities to deal with the toxic fallout. Climate work isn’t “anti-worker”—it is the ultimate labor demand. It is the demand for a Just Transition where workers aren’t just an afterthought, but the architects of a new economy. We aren’t fighting for “fewer jobs”; we are fighting for better jobs—roles in homegrown energy, expanded transit, and resilient housing that offer dignity, long-term security, and a life free from the boom-and-bust cycles of oil.

Where do climate solutions come in?

Climate solutions are the tools we use to break the grip of this common enemy. Just as the labor movement of 1886 rose up against the industrial elite who squeezed workers for profit, today’s climate movement is taking on the fossil fuel giants thriving on war and extraction. We are fighting for the same goal: sovereignty. Whether it is a union demanding a living wage or a community demanding a decentralized solar grid, we are seeking to shift power back to the people. Because transport accounts for 60% of global oil use, reclaiming our mobility is a worker’s right. Climate solutions like mass public transport, energy-efficient housing, and homegrown renewables are the modern frontlines of justice.

#WorkersDeserveBetter

Stability is only possible when we redirect public funds away from fueling war and padding corporate subsidies, and toward the essentials for a good life: universal healthcare, affordable housing, and clean, reliable public transport. By dismantling our dependence on the volatile, combustible fuels controlled by autocrats and billionaires, we aren’t just cutting emissions—we are winning back the dignity and peace of mind that workers have been marching, and dying, for since the very first May Day.

Check out how workers around the world fight together to demand improved labor rights.

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Learn more about existing solutions through this Greenpeace interactive map.

Share this blog if you believe workers deserve better.

Yewande Omotoso is a Story Manager for Greenpeace International

On International Worker’s Day, Greenpeace activists and volunteers joined our trade union allies in the streets around the world because we are united by common values. 

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Greenpeace organisations all over the world are also facing the same coordinated attacks from the same forces seeking to undermine rights, protections and democratic freedoms. 

It will take a united movement to face down the corporate bullies and autocrats who are trying to grab control of our rights and freedoms. 

For too long, environmental activism has been viewed as a separate movement from trade unionism or human rights or press freedom. In reality, our struggles are interconnected and our successes are interdependent. We are stronger together.

The world is resisting a billionaire takeover and increasing corporate impunity: an insidious alliance of corporate bullies, oligarchs, and autocrats who are aggressively threatening our rights and freedoms. Billionaires and the reactionary forces they bankroll are actively trying to roll back decades of hard-won environmental, labour and civic protections, pointing the finger at the most vulnerable communities and seeking to divide the very people they exploit.

It’s time to resist. United!

Rising attacks on workers and environmental defenders 

Across the world, trade union leaders are facing charges, arbitrary arrests, and violent attacks merely for exercising their democratic freedoms. At the same time, massive fossil fuel corporations are using their vast wealth to prosecute environmental defenders with abusive lawsuits.

We know that freedoms are not isolated. Union-busting; crackdowns on the right to organise, protest and strike; attacks on press freedom or the use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are all part of the same pattern of intimidation by the same type of bullies. Our power to resist these attacks lies in our solidarity. We cannot stay silent when one sector is attacked. They want to isolate us from each other, as individuals but also as movements. 

Defending the rights to free speech, strike and protest

In mid-April, the inaugural hearing in Greenpeace International’s landmark anti-SLAPP case against Energy Transfer in the European Union took place in Amsterdam. With this case, Greenpeace International seeks relief from the ongoing harm caused by the oil pipeline giant’s absurd back-to-back SLAPP lawsuits against Greenpeace International and Greenpeace organisations in the US for displaying solidarity with the Indigenous-led Standing Rock movement. Energy Transfer’s SLAPP lawsuits are an attempt to silence a popular movement and we cannot let them win. Greenpeace International’s case in Amsterdam is the biggest test to date of the new EU anti-SLAPP directive. It is bigger than Greenpeace because it can set a precedent for all popular, social movements around the world. It is an act of resistance against the billionaire-backed corporate playbook that seeks to export abusive litigations worldwide. The transposition of the EU directive into national laws, which needs to happen in each member state by 7 May must serve as a crucial shield to protect civil society from silencing tactics.

Simultaneously, the global labour movement is fighting a historic battle to protect a crucial pillar of workers’ rights: the right to strike. In October 2025, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and other international organisations presented oral arguments before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in defence of the fundamental freedom of workers to withdraw their labour in order to stop abusive, unjust or unsafe working conditions and improve standards for all workers. Strikes have played a crucial part in history, winning for millions of workers worldwide the right to shorter working hours, safe contracts, vacation and better wages. Around the world, international labour organisations, like ITUC, Public Services International (PSI),and UNI Global Union are working tirelessly to defend workers’ rights and safety. Yet there are still two  billion workers who lack formal contracts and social protections. Among them are countless platform workers, many of them migrants, subjected to the tyranny of Big Tech billionaires and fighting alongside the ITUC to win an International Labour Organisation convention on platform work. In many workplaces workers still risk their lives, collapsing from heat or exhaustion. By fighting for the right to strike and a convention on platform work, we are facing down bullying employers everywhere.

Corporate bullies fear people power 

There is no doubt that billionaire corporate bullies and autocrats know that we, the people, can band together, face them down, and win. 

They want us isolated, but we are joining together, finding common ground, and forging deeper connections. This  International Workers’ Day, the  growing solidarity was on display as citizens around the world —including environmental activists and Greenpeace staff and volunteers — marched united. 

It’s time to resist! Together! 

Stop corporate intimidation

Tell Energy Transfer and other corporate bullies: Stop your attacks on free speech.

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Sanna Ghotbi & Kasey Valente are the Allyship co-leads for Greenpeace International’s Civic Resistance & Freedoms Programme