By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
CATANIA/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan and Irish actor Liam Cunningham are among 11 people who set sail to Gaza to bring “urgently needed” humanitarian aid to the war-torn region, organizers said.
The international Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) action group said one of its vessels left the Italian port of Catania late Sunday with a crew of volunteers from Brazil, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Turkey.
The said the Madleen, a civilian ship, carries supplies such as “baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, women’s sanitary products, water desalination kits, medical supplies, crutches, and children’s prosthetics.”
There have been several previous attempts by the FCC to reach Gaza, including last month and in 2010, when pro-Palestinian activists from Turkey died en route, with Israel accusing them of links to terrorism.
The latest mission “comes just one month after Israeli drones bombed Conscience, another Freedom Flotilla aid ship, in international waters off the coast of Malta—underscoring both the urgency and the danger of this mission to break the siege on Gaza,” the FFC added.
The group said that nobody was injured in that incident, but the ship sustained damage and lost power. Israel has not commented on the drone allegations.
Despite the unlikelihood of reaching Gaza, Thunberg said it was crucial to take a risk. “We are seeing a systematic starvation of 2 million people. The world cannot be silent bystanders; every single one of us has a moral obligation to do everything we can to fight for a free Palestine,” the self-declared “climate justice” warrior added.
NO NEUTRALITY
“I am aboard, Madleen because silence is not neutrality—it is complicity. The Palestinian people in Gaza are being starved and slaughtered, and the world watches,” added Hassan, the European legislator. “This ship is not just carrying aid; it is carrying a demand: End the blockade. End the genocide.”
Israel has strongly denied it is carrying out genocide or deliberately halting aid for Palestinian civilians. However, it says it wants to prevent humanitarian assistance from being delivered to Hamas, which it designated as a terrorist organization.
The U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said on May 30 that it had already distributed two million meals and other goods within four days.
Video footage seen by Worthy News showed Palestinians walking with packages, with some saying “Thank you, Trump” for U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s role in the aid operation.
Palestinian footage purportedly showed Palestinians picking up aid and “hiding” for shooting, although further in the picture, at least one person appeared to walk calmly.
GHF denied previous claims by Hamas-controlled authorities in Gaza that dozens of Palestinians were shot and killed at one of its distribution hubs.
Yet those on board the Madleen accused Israel of denying the people of Gaza aid. “Named after Gaza’s first and only fisherwoman in 2014, Madleen symbolizes the unyielding spirit of Palestinian resilience and the growing global resistance to Israel’s use of collective punishment and deliberate starvation policies,” the FFC said.
‘DEADLY ATTACK’
It recalled that 15 years ago, “Israel carried out an unlawful and deadly attack on the Mavi Marmara, in which ten humanitarian volunteers were killed while attempting to deliver aid to Gaza. This mission is a continuation of that legacy—a refusal to surrender to silence, fear, or complicity.”
The Turkish vessel set sail from Istanbul as part of a small “Gaza Freedom Flotilla,” which carried 600 people and 10,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid.
During a night-time raid, Israeli commandos, backed by warships and helicopters, boarded the ships in international waters.
Israel put the blame for the deaths on the organizers of the aid flotilla, saying the entire voyage was “a provocation by a group with links to terrorist organizations.”
The Israeli navy said it advised vessels to turn back or sail to Ashdod Port in Israel or Egypt, but the activists refused to cooperate.
“The siege on Gaza is maintained not just by Israeli firepower but by global inaction. Despite the risks, we believe that direct, civil resistance still matters —that active solidarity can shift the moral compass of the world. That is why Madleen sails, “ the FFC said.
It added that “this is a peaceful act of civil resistance. All volunteers and crew aboard Madleen are trained in nonviolence. They are sailing unarmed, united by the shared belief that Palestinians deserve the same rights, freedom, and dignity as all people.”
SAFE PASSAGE?
It urged “Governments to guarantee safe passage for Madleen and all humanitarian vessels.”
However, it seemed unlikely Wednesday that they would be allowed to reach Gaza, with Israel suggesting sailing to designated ports.
Israel has said Hamas sparked the war after it invaded Israel from Gaza on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 Jewish people, including babies and pregnant women.
The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry says more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, but it does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Israel has given somewhat lower figures and says it killed some 20,000 Hamas fighters and accuses the group of using civilians as human shields.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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