Claim: A video shows the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was carrying former senator Mushtaq Ahmad, arriving in Gaza.
Fact: The flotilla never arrived in Gaza. The video in the claim likely shows the Global Sumud Flotilla at the Sidi Bou Said port in Tunisia in early September 2025.
On 1 October, a Facebook user posted a video (archive) that apparently showed the Global Sumud Flotilla arriving in Gaza. The text embedded in the video reads [translated from Urdu]: “Mushtaq Ahmad’s ship has arrived in Gaza, and Palestinian brothers wholeheartedly welcomed him”. Below is the screenshot of the post:
A Facebook post claiming that Mushtaq Ahmad arrived in Gaza.
Mushtaq Ahmad Khan is a former senator who recently resigned from the right-wing party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). He was one of the few Pakistanis who joined the Global Sumud Flotilla, which aimed to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF)
On 1 October, Israeli naval forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla, the largest maritime mission attempting to break the Israeli siege of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
The fleet comprised some 42 vessels, with at least 462 participants from approximately 44 countries. The flotilla carried a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid and attempted to establish a maritime corridor into Gaza, where the genocide committed by Israel has killed at least 67,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom are women and children.
The flotilla set sail from Spain in early September 2025, stopping at a Tunisian port before sailing to Gaza. The participants on board included Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, as well as lawyers, doctors, and activists from several countries. From Pakistan, former senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan also participated in this attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade of Palestinian territory.
Fact or Fiction?
Israeli forces intercepted the vessels in international waters before they could reach Gaza. The final boat, Marinette, was intercepted 42.5 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza.
Some boats livestreamed their journey, when the cameras captured Israeli forces intercepting some vessels. According to AP, Israeli vessels approached the flotilla ships during the night and sprayed them with water cannons, flashed bright lights before boarding, and detained the activists.
Mushtaq Ahmad Khan was detained and imprisoned in Israel for five days before being deported to Jordan. He received a warm welcome upon his arrival in Islamabad.
Therefore, the flotilla never reached Gaza to deliver aid, and the claim is false.
Verifying the Origins of the Facebook video
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched keyframes from the video and found that it shows the Global Sumud Flotilla stationed at a Tunisian port.
On 10 September, a Facebook user posted a video (archive) with the description that reads [translated from Arabic via Google Translate]: “Historical scenes that will be etched in memory 🇹🇳❤️🇵🇸 🇩🇿 From the heart of the event, Sidi Bou Said, the moment we bid farewell to the #Caravan_of_Resilience”.
Keyframes in this clip match the video being fact-checked. Moreover, the video was likely captured at a Tunisian port, as Sidi Bou Said, mentioned in the caption above, is a town in northern Tunisia.
The visual below shows a side-by-side comparison of the video in the claim with the original Facebook clip posted in early September:
On the left is the clip from the claim that matches the original keyframe from the Facebook video posted in early September.
Then, comparing keyframes from this Facebook video, which show the area, with images of the location on Google Maps (at coordinates 36.86664007408894, 10.349581851442325) confirms that the former shows Sidi Bou Said in Tunisia, as shown below:
A comparison of the location in the original video with the images of the area from Google Maps.
The footage in the claim is likely from when the flotilla arrived and was stationed at Sidi Bou Said port in Tunisia before departing for Gaza in early September 2025. The BBC published a video of the activists arriving at the Sidi Bou Said port. The area shown in this clip matches the one shown on Google Maps and the one in the Facebook video mentioned above. This further confirms that Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia, is the location of the video being fact-checked.
During this time, two vessels from the flotilla were attacked twice outside the Tunisian port. This delayed the voyage, but the flotilla continued its journey. People gathered at Sidi Bou Said beach to support the flotilla before it departed for Gaza, Reuters reported.
Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes that the claim is false.
Virality
The Facebook post garnered 10,000 views.
Another Facebook video, which was later deleted, was viewed over 1.7 million times and received 139,000 reactions.
It also appeared on Facebook here.
On X, a similar claim using the same video appeared here.
The video was shared on TikTok here.
It was posted on YouTube here and here.
Conclusion: The video does not show the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was carrying former senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, arriving in Gaza. Instead, it shows the flotilla at the Sidi Bou Said port in Tunisia in early September 2025.
Background image in cover photo: The News International
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