New Delhi: Nikita Naidu, a climate activist, has joined the Global Sumud Flotilla’s North African land convoy, becoming the first Indian national to participate in what has been described as the largest civilian-led humanitarian mission in history aimed at breaking the siege on Gaza.Naidu reached Tripoli, Libya, on Thursday, May 7, linking up with the overland convoy carrying medical aid, shelters and other essential humanitarian supplies through North Africa towards the Rafah crossing into Gaza. The convoy departed from Mauritania at the beginning of May and has since passed through Algeria and Tunisia before reaching Libya. Its next stops are Egypt and finally the Rafah border crossing, where it will deliver supplies directly to the people of Gaza in coordination with the Red Crescent.‘I have to do it myself’: NaiduShe is the sole Indian participant on the land convoy after two other Indian nationals who had been expected to join withdrew due to a family emergency, according to a member of the ground team for the Indian delegation. Earlier plans for Indians to join the maritime convoy had also been affected by visa rejections and logistical difficulties. “We originally started with about ten people for the sea convoy,” the ground team member said. “The number dropped to one for various reasons, including visa complications.”Naidu said that her decision was driven by a sense of personal responsibility in the face of the Indian government’s conspicuous silence. “As Indians of conscience, we cannot let them be the only ones representing us,” Naidu said in an interview published by The Polis Project, referring to India’s image in the Israel-Palestine conflict as shaped by the “people in power.” “It is disheartening and discouraging that the country I wanted to be represent by is not representing me in the way I would want it to. So, I have to do it myself,” she added.Naidu invoked India’s historical ties to the Palestinian cause, highlighting New Delhi’s relationship with former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and India’s status as the first non-Arab country to recognise Palestine. She noted that she was fully aware of the personal costs of her participation. “Whether it is visa rejections or internal scrutiny, political and internal surveillance that I will have to come under, the stand that I take at the end of the day is humanitarian. It is for the people of Gaza and for the Palestinian people,” Naidu said. The flotilla and its interceptionThe Global Sumud Flotilla describes itself as an international movement of coordinated, non-violent action working to end Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza. Its spring 2026 mission, which includes both the maritime fleet and the overland convoy, involves participants from more than 70 countries, among them doctors, educators, engineers and humanitarian workers. The land convoy is running in parallel with the flotilla’s sea mission, which became the subject of a major international confrontation last month.On April 29, Israeli naval forces intercepted the flotilla’s vessels in international waters west of the Greek island of Crete, approximately 600 nautical miles from Gaza. Israel seized 22 of the 58 boats and detained around 175 activists. Two of those detained, Spanish-Swedish national Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian national Thiago Avila, remain in Israeli custody at Shikma Prison in Ashkelon. Their lawyers have alleged they were subjected to physical abuse, and both men have begun a hunger strike in protest. The remaining fleet is continuing its journey towards Gaza.The foreign ministers of Turkey, Spain, Brazil, Bangladesh, Colombia, Jordan, Libya, Malaysia, the Maldives, Pakistan, South Africa, Mauritania and Indonesia issued a joint statement condemning the Israeli action as a “flagrant violation of international law.” India has not publicly commented on the flotilla interception.India’s shifting positionIndia’s position on the conflict has long been a point of contention. After the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first world leaders to publicly condemn the attacks and express solidarity with Israel, reflecting the deepening strategic partnership between New Delhi and Tel Aviv. In February 2026, PM Modi became the first Indian leader to address the Israeli Knesset, declaring that “India stands with Israel firmly, with full conviction, in this moment and beyond.”At the same time, India has continued to formally back a two-state solution and called for humanitarian assistance and ceasefire efforts in Gaza. The Ministry of External Affairs has repeatedly stated that India supports “a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine living side by side in peace with Israel” and has called for the release of hostages, dialogue and sustained humanitarian access. Nevertheless, India has drawn scrutiny over a series of abstentions at the United Nations on Gaza-rleated resolutions, including a June 2025 UN General Assembly resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, which New Delhi abstained from on the grounds that it lacked balance.Also read: As UNGA Overwhelmingly Backs Gaza Ceasefire, India Is an OutlierNaidu pushed back against Israeli characterisations of the flotilla as a merely symbolic gesture. “If we were just symbolic, they wouldn’t be putting all of their land, sea and air forces to fight us, to stop us from reaching the borders of Gaza,” she said. “All we want is to get aid to the people of Gaza.”