UK former Member of Parliament (MP) George Galloway has said the Israel Foreign Ministry mistakenly used his image in connection with the Gaza’s Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) to Hamas.
On Tuesday, September 30, Israel released documents it said were recovered from the Gaza Strip, citing the Palestinian Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA) and naming Zaher Birawi, a British Palestinian activist, as linked to flotilla activities. The Ministry highlighted a 2021 letter from Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh endorsing the PCPA, which it said shows coordination between flotilla organisers and Hamas.
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However, the two images released to identify Birawi included one of Galloway.
EXPOSED: Official Hamas documents found in the Gaza Strip – now revealed for the first time – prove Hamas’s direct involvement in the funding and execution of the “Sumud” flotilla to GazaHamas documents that were discovered in the Gaza Strip, and are being revealed for the… pic.twitter.com/toyJlIXtVL— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) September 30, 2025
Responding on X, Galloway said the Israeli government had published his photograph “with a target circle round my head in an absurd but deadly smear against Greta Thunberg and the flotilla bound for Gaza.”
He clarified that he has no connection to Hamas or the flotilla, and that he had not spoken to Zaher Birawi for more than a decade. Galloway added that Birawi, a British Palestinian activist, had been incorrectly named as a flotilla organiser.
He concluded by wishing “God speed to the flotilla” and calling for “a free Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.”
After Saturday’s encounter with the Terrorism Act on Tuesday the Israeli government has published my photographs with a target circle round my head in an absurd but deadly smear against Greta Thurnberg and the flotilla bound for Gaza. A British Palestinian man Zaher Birawi who…— George Galloway (@georgegalloway) September 30, 2025
Israel has maintained that flotillas to Gaza are orchestrated provocations by Hamas, while pro-Palestinian activists insist the missions are humanitarian efforts to challenge the blockade on the enclave. The Foreign Ministry has yet to respond to Galloway’s statement regarding the photograph misidentification.
The GSF — the largest civilian convoy ever assembled — departed from Barcelona on August 31, carrying 497 people aboard 44 ships. The participants come from over 40 countries and include activist Greta Thunberg, several current members of national and European parliaments, and Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela.
As of Wednesday, October 1, the flotilla is reported to be less than 120 nautical miles from Gaza, continuing its journey to deliver humanitarian aid and challenge Israel’s naval blockade.
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