Climate activist Greta Thunberg is among a group of 12 campaigners who set sail for the beleaguered Gaza Strip, saying they intend ‘breaking Israel’s siege’.
The set out on the sailing boat Madleen, which is operated by activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition, from the Sicilian port of Catania,on Sunday 1st June.
Before their departure, the group said at a press conference on Sunday that they intend to deliver aid and increase international awareness of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.
‘Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. And no matter how dangerous this mission is, it’s not even near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the live-streamed genocide.’
Greta Thunberg, Climate Activist
‘We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying,’ Greta said.
‘Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. And no matter how dangerous this mission is, it’s not even near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the live-streamed genocide.
‘We are seeing a systematic starvation of two 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.’
Freedom Flotilla Carries Emergency Aid
Experts have warned that Gaza is at risk of famine if more aid is not brought in. The ship is carrying urgently needed supplies for the people of Gaza, including baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, women’s sanitary products, water desalination kits, medical supplies, crutches, and children’s prosthetics.
United Nations agencies and major aid groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza’s roughly two million Palestinians.
Among those sailing on the Madleen are ‘Game of Thrones’ actor Liam Cunningham and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent and barred from entering Israel.
‘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. This ship is not just carrying aid, it is carrying a demand: End the blockade. End the genocide,’ said Hassan.
The activists expect to take seven days to get to their destination, if they are not stopped.
Greta had been due to board a previous Freedom Flotilla ship last month. That attempt to reach Gaza by sea, in early May, failed after another of the group’s vessels, the ‘Conscience’, was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off the coast of Malta.
The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship.
There have been several previous attempts by the Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza, and it made international headlines in 2010 when nine pro-Palestinian volunteers from Türkiye died en route.
In this instance, a convoy of ships led by a Turkish vessel set sail from Istanbul, carrying 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.
A second attempt was planned for 2011, but the ship was prevented from leaving a Greek port after being tied up by bureaucratic red tape.
