A ship belonging to an international non-profit organisation is nearing the critical stage of its journey to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza after a previous attempt failed due to a drone attack on a separate vessel in the Mediterranean.
By Wednesday, Madleen, which belongs to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), had covered more than 700km of its 2,000km journey, skirting Greek territorial waters and entering the eastern Mediterranean. It set sail from the Italian port of Catania on Sunday.
Israel’s army radio has said the Madleen will be prevented from reaching Gaza.
Last month the ship Conscience, carrying aid to Gaza, was crippled by drone strikes in international waters off Malta. The FFC blamed Israel for the attack.
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The FFC says it wants to raise awareness of the conflict in Gaza and deliver urgently needed aid to the strip. The ship is carrying baby formula, flour, rice, nappies, water desalination kits, medical supplies, crutches and children’s prosthetics.
Among its 12-member crew is prominent Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan. Before departure, Thunberg said: “We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying. 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.”
Although facing a case of genocide at the International Court of Justice, Israel has strongly denied the accusation and claimed its 19-month military campaign in Gaza is to rescue Israeli captives and eliminate Hamas, which killed 1,200 people and abducted another 250 from southern Israel on October 7th, 2023.
Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza on March 2nd, halting supplies of food, water, medicine and fuel and abandoning the three-month ceasefire on March 18th.
[ Ship carrying humanitarian aid and activists to Gaza attacked by drones, NGO saysOpens in new window ]
In more than 600 days of war, 54,510 Palestinians have been killed and 125,000 wounded, Gaza’s Hamas-run health authority has reported.
In August 2008, the Free Gaza Movement mounted the first maritime missions to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which was tightened a year earlier when Hamas seized power.
In August 2008, two Greek fishing boats, the Free Gaza and the SS Liberty, set sail from Larnaca in Cyprus. Carrying hearing aids for children, the boats were greeted by thousands of Gazans and spent a week in the strip.
In October 2008, the movement’s yacht Dignity sailed from Cyprus to Gaza’s fishing port with medical supplies. Two months later, during Israel’s 2008-2009 war on Gaza, Dignity, carrying 3.5 tonnes of medical aid, was rammed and forced to dock in Lebanon. Activists blamed Israeli naval ships.
In May 2010, the Free Gaza Movement, the Turkish Relief Foundation and other humanitarian organisations mounted the largest challenge to Israel’s blockade, with three cargo ships laden with basic supplies and four vessels carrying 600 passengers.
Helicopter-borne Israeli commandos attacked the former Istanbul ferry Mavi Marmara, killing nine activists and wounding several dozen. Israel said several soldiers were injured, one seriously. Israel called the raid a “clear case of self-defence.”
– Additional reporting: Reuters
