ISTANBUL — A flotilla of ships bound for the Gaza Strip is preparing to sail from Turkey in the coming days, organizers say, on a mission aimed at breaching Israel’s naval blockade and highlighting the lack of aid reaching Palestinians in the besieged enclave.
Washington
Gaza aid flotilla plans to challenge Israeli blockade, organizers say
But the flotilla’s well-traveled route — the Mediterranean — has gained new relevance during the current conflict as governments and relief organizations alike turn to sea deliveries to circumvent what aid groups say is Israel’s persistent obstruction of deliveries to Gaza over land.
The latest flotilla mission, which will include a cargo ship carrying more than 5,000 tons of aid, comes as global attention on Gaza’s worsening humanitarian crisis has waned, shifting to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. Apparent Turkish sensitivities over whether to allow the ships to depart has caused organizers to hedge on when exactly the voyage, which was scheduled to begin Sunday, would get underway.
The regional dynamics were “challenging,” Ann Wright, one of the flotilla organizers, said in a phone interview from Istanbul last week, where activists planning to join the maritime convoy were gathering. The mission was also at the “mercy of the port authorities” in Turkey, said Wright, a retired U.S. diplomat and former Army colonel who resigned her State Department position in opposition to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
“The ships are ready,” she said.
At a news conference Friday aboard one of the ships, Huwaida Arraf, a Palestinian American human rights attorney who has joined previous flotillas to Gaza, said “our governments have thus far done nothing but we call on them to start now, to uphold their own obligations under international law, to demand that Israel allow the flotilla safe passage to Gaza.”
“We expect that Turkey will not be bought off and we will indeed sail,” she said. “Anything less than this is collaborating with the illegal siege on Gaza, and we don’t think that is what the Turkish government will do.”
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the flotilla’s mission. Israeli channel N12 reported Saturday that “security preparations” had begun, including for taking over the flotilla. One of the groups participating in the voyage — a Turkish Islamic charity organization, IHH — is designated as a terrorist group by Israel. The group has denied links to terrorism.
Israel has argued for years that the naval blockade is justified to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza — a policy that Arraf said was part of Israel’s “hermetic closure” of the territory that amounted to collective punishment of its population, and a war crime.
A report by a U.N. panel on the May 2010 Israeli raid called the naval blockade a “legitimate security measure,” but said that Israel’s boarding of the vessels “with such substantial force at a great distance from the blockade zone” was “excessive and unreasonable.”
Since October, Israel’s hindrance of aid deliveries by land, as well its attacks on relief organizations, have helped fuel a humanitarian crisis that has caused northern Gaza to slide into famine, according to aid officials and human rights groups.
The killing of seven World Central Kitchen workers by Israeli forces on April 1 highlighted the dangerous environment in which relief agencies operate. In the aftermath, the Biden administration warned Israel to swiftly address civilian suffering in Gaza or risk future U.S. support.
“This is a completely man-made and preventable situation,” Andrea de Domenico, the head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory, said during a press briefing last week. “I think there has been a lot of effort from our side and the Israeli side to some extent to increase the volume of aid that is going to the north,” he said, while adding that significant obstacles remained.
In a six-day period this month, “41 percent of our requests for operations in the north have been denied,” he said. For Gaza’s residents, “every day is literally a struggle to survive.”
In March, President Biden announced a plan to establish a maritime aid corridor to Gaza, shortly after the United States joined other countries in dropping relief supplies by air on the enclave. Humanitarian officials said that while any additional deliveries were welcome, they were no substitute for aid delivered by trucks.
Wright said the flotilla would include a cargo ship carrying food packages, water, ambulances and medical supplies including anesthesia. “We are trying to stop the starvation,” she said. “It’s not nearly enough. It will make a dent,” she said.
Flotilla participants were conducting nonviolence training last week, in advance of the scheduled departure, she said. “We hope that we can get into Gaza,” Wright said. But they were preparing for the myriad ways they could be turned back.
Many of the governments in the region had participated in stymieing previous Gaza missions, including Greece, which stopped boats from departing in 2011. The United States had warned its citizens not to participate in the missions, and offered “very little assistance” when American activists on the flotillas were detained and then deported by Israel, she said.
If the current mission got underway, they were possibly facing an “armada,” she said, with U.S. warships stationed in the waters off Israel.
Mustafa Ozbek, the media coordinator for IHH, said the organizers had notified the Turkish government, the United Nations and other international institutions about the mission.
Dylan Saba, a 31-year old writer and attorney who was planning to travel with the flotilla, said he was joining in part because “there is an obligation for citizens of the world to act, where governments have failed, and to act in the spirit of international law.”
As a Palestinian, whose father was born in Gaza, there was a “lot of symbolic value in being able to accompany this aid that we are attempting to deliver, not just to my distant family members who are living there, but all of the Palestinians of Gaza,” he said.
“I feel very confident that this is the right thing for me to do,” he said. “But I would be lying to you if I said that I was not scared.”
Alon Rom in Tel Aviv contributed to this report.
Incidents like the one in 2023 along the Baltimore Beltway — a crash that killed six highway workers — are the reason why officials gathered to stress the need for better work zone safety during National Work Zone Awareness Week.
This week, officials, workers and residents are calling for safer roads as they say there is still more work to be done when it comes to safety.
“It’s about understanding that each of us has a role to play in the safety and protection of one another,” William Pines from the Maryland State Highway Administration said.
With an active construction site as the backdrop — at the interchange between Pennsylvania Avenue and Suitland Parkway — roadway workers spoke up.
“We are not just workers, we are people — real people. We are parents, siblings, friends and neighbors. So when you see us out there, please pay attention to that.” Dawn Hopkins with Flagger Force Traffic Control Services said.
Hopkins says she’s had to sound an alarm to get her crew out of dangerous situations.
“Please slow down, stay alert…and watch out for us in the workzones,” Hopkins added.
While the number of crashes in Maryland work zones in 2025 remains concerning, it is lower than in 2024. In 2025, there were:
- 1,148 work zone crashes
- 9 work zone deaths
- 449 injuries
In 2024, there were:
- 1,302 work zone crashes,
- 12 work zone deaths, and
- 492 injuries
“While citations are down, we still had 19 citations that were issues where the automated system recorded drivers traveling in excess of 130 miles an hour in work zones,” Pines said.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has proclaimed April 22 as “Go Orange Day” in Maryland, urging everyone to wear orange in support of highway worker safety.
A moment of silence for road workers who have been killed will be observed at noon this Friday.
This regularly scheduled column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. If you would like to work with Eli and his team in Northern Virginia and the greater D.C. Metro area, you can reach him directly at [email protected].
Question: How has the local real estate market performed so far this year?
Answer: After a year where market conditions softened in favor of buyers, the Northern VA real estate market became more favorable for sellers in the first quarter of 2026, while the Washington DC condo market continued to reel.
What is in this article:
- Northern VA, Arlington, and Washington DC Absorption Trends (demand)
- Northern VA, Arlington, and Washington DC Inventory Trends (supply)
- Washington DC List Price Trends (market values)
Northern VA & Arlington Inventory is Being Absorbed Faster
After four straight quarters of double-digit decreases in year-over-year absorption, the Northern VA and Arlington markets saw a ~8% increase in absorption rate.
What this means: Demand increased in Q1
Northern VA & Arlington New Listing Volume is Declining
After a promising trend of six straight quarters of year-over-year increases in the number of homes listed for sale in Northern VA, new listing activity fell by ~1% each of the previous two quarters.
What this means: Sellers have less competition, buyers have fewer choices
Washington DC Condo Absorption is Plummeting
The absorption rate for DC condos has declined year-over-year for 16 quarters straight and 23 out of the past 26 quarters.
What this means: It is difficult to find buyers for DC condos
Washington DC Condo Inventory Declined Slightly
Total inventory declined by 3.4% year-over-year, the first quarterly drop since Q4 2023. Still, there were great than 2x more condos for sale in DC in Q1 2026 than Q1 2020
What this means: Motivated sellers must compete aggressively with each other for buyers
Washington DC Condos Keep Getting Cheaper
The average price of a DC condo listed for sale is 9.4% less than it was in Q1 2025 and ~9% less than it was ten years ago.
What this means: Even lowering the price won’t guarantee a buyer
If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].
We have access to the most pre and off-market listings across the DMV of any brokerage and are happy to share what’s available with anybody who asks.
Below are some of our team’s pre/off-market listings, details and additional listings available by request:
- Westover – 4BR/2BA/2,000sqft – Detached Single Family (2000) – 23rd St N Arlington VA 22205
- Green Valley – 5BR/4.5BA/3,000sqft – Detached Single Family (2020) – 24th St S Arlington VA 22206
- Ballston – 4BR/3.5BA/2,400sqft – Townhouse (2008) – N George Mason Dr Arlington VA 22203
- Ballston – 4BR/3.5BA+office/4,000 sqft – Four Townhouses (2026/2027) – 11th St N Arlington VA 22201
- Rosslyn – 2BR/2BA/1,800sqft – Condo (2021) – 1781 N Pierce St Arlington VA 22209
- Rosslyn – 3BR/2.5BA/2,400sqft – Condo (1986) – 1530 Key Blvd Arlington VA 22209
- Williamsburg – 6BR/5.5BA/5,500 sqft – Detached Single Family (2026) – 27th St N Arlington VA 22207
- Yorktown – 6BR/6.5BA/6,000+ sqft – Detached Single Family (2026) – N Greencastle St Arlington VA 22207
Eli and his team believe that your real estate needs should be managed by advisors, not salespeople. Their mission is to guide, educate, and advocate for their clients through real advice, hands-on support, and personalized service.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), “on behalf of the Department of Education (ED),” on Monday released a Notice Inviting Grant Applications for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program. Applications are due by May 29.
Last November, ED announced that it had entered into an interagency agreement with HHS to administer the CCAMPIS program. This is the first CCAMPIS competition conducted under this arrangement.
Approximately $73.5 million will go to institutions of higher education that awarded at least $250,000 in Pell grants to enrolled students in FY 2025. HHS will award about 148 grants, ranging from $150,000 to $1 million.
The terms of the grant competition are not significantly different than prior competitions. As before, there are two absolute grant priorities that every application must address – leveraging non-federal resources and utilizing a sliding-fee scale for low-income parents.
This year’s competition includes only one invitational priority that reflects the Trump administration’s general educational policy. The new priority, entitled “Expanding Education Choice in Early Learning Settings,” encourages applications that “expand access to education choice … including by empowering parents in choosing the early learning setting that best meets their family’s needs.” Flexible childcare programs that include drop-in care and care during nontraditional hours are also encouraged.
One other notable difference from prior competitions is an expanded “Terms and Conditions” section that not only requires compliance with applicable civil rights laws, but also refers to Trump administration Executive Orders and guidance on racial discrimination that clarify “the application of federal antidiscrimination laws to programs or initiatives that may involve discriminatory practices, including those labeled as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) programs.” This includes any “discriminatory equity ideology [as defined in Executive Order 14190] in violation of a federal antidiscrimination law.”
The exact scope of these terms is unclear because courts have not found many of the practices described in these Executive Orders and guidance documents to be violations of federal law.
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