A vessel operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) has set sail for Gaza in a new attempt to break Israel’s deadly siege, which has deliberately starved the Palestinian population amid the unfolding genocide.
The sailing boat, “Madleen”, departed on Sunday from the port of Catania, Sicily, carrying humanitarian aid for the devastated people of Gaza. On board are 12 international activists, including climate justice leader Greta Thunberg, Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham, European Parliament member Rima Hassan, and Palestinian-American human rights attorney Huwaida Arraf.
“We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying,” said an emotional Thunberg. “Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. And no matter how dangerous this mission is, it’s not even close to the danger of the world’s silence in the face of a livestreamed genocide.”
This latest mission comes just one month after another FFC vessel, “Conscience”, was attacked by two drones in international waters near Malta. The FFC accused Israel of the assault, which damaged the vessel and forced the mission to be aborted.
Founded in 2010, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition has spent the past 15 years attempting to challenge the blockade on Gaza — long before the events of October 7. Israel has imposed a brutal naval blockade on the enclave since 2007, choking off movement, aid, and basic survival for over two million Palestinians. All attempts have been intercepted while others were prevented from even leaving port.
Supporters and organizers of the coalition say that the voyage itself is both a forward and symbolic act of defiance that raises awareness for the Palestinian cause, and more practically is an attempt to bring vital aid to Gaza’s shores.
One of the most notorious examples occurred in May 2010, when Israeli commandos stormed the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara in international waters, killing ten Turkish activists. Israel framed these murders as “self defense” claiming that they opened fire to protect themselves from the activists on board.
In response to a peaceful mission that seeks to deliver aid to a population under siege and facing systematically engineered famine, US senior Senator Lindsey Graham, reacted with a social media post stating, “Hope Greta and her friends can swim!”— showcasing the moral decay of Israel and its backers.
The mission also comes amid the ongoing failure of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s (GHF) to safely and effectively deliver aid to Gaza’s starving population. Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have repeatedly opened fire on Palestinians at distribution points — described by many as death traps reminiscent of Nazi concentration camps.
Major humanitarian organizations, including the UN and Save the Children, have refused to engage with GHF, citing its lack of neutrality, political entanglement, and unsafe aid distribution methods. Palestinian activists are even warning those on the ground to avoid them in fear that they are being used as bait and target points by the IOF.
The Madleen is expected to reach Gaza in seven days, barring obstruction. Veteran flotilla activist Michael Coleman, who sailed in a 2011 mission, emphasized that success is not solely defined by reaching the shore as the mission also raises awareness of the situation in Gaza.
“We’ll sail until Palestine is free,” Coleman declared.
The voyage is both a defiant act of solidarity and a challenge to a world order that has, through inaction, permitted one of the most egregious crimes of the 21st century to unfold in real time.
