As Israel’s blockade threatens famine, Thunberg and other activists launch a civilian flotilla with humanitarian aid, in protest.
Greta Thunberg. Heute.at. CC BY 4.0.
On Sunday, June 1, a ship called “Madleen,” launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left a Sicilian port in Catania, Italy, and set sail towards the Gaza Strip. On board the ship are 12 activists bringing humanitarian aid to Palestinians under blockade, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament, Rima Hassan. The passengers hope to raise awareness of the ongoing war in Gaza and to protest Israel’s illegal blockade, which has been in place since March 2 and has resulted in the deaths of dozens of Palestinian children due to starvation.
Three months ago, Israel cut off all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies from reaching Gaza. According to aid groups, 93% of the enclave’s 2.3 million-person population are facing acute food shortages, and 1 in 5 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is facing starvation. Food security experts have warned that Gaza is at critical risk of famine if the blockade is to continue.
The ship which Thunberg is on is expected to reach Gaza in seven days, crossing 1,250 miles of ocean in the process. In addition to medical supplies, it is carrying items like flour, rice, baby powder, women’s sanitary products and water desalination kits. Thunberg stated in a press conference before the Madleen set sail, “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.” The 22-year-old continued, tearing up, “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.”
Freedom Flotilla banner at port. freegaza.org. CC BY-SA 2.0.
According to UN agencies, it has been difficult to deliver aid to Palestinians in Gaza due to Israeli restrictions, widespread looting and the breakdown of law and order. A different ship carrying aid was launched by the FFC last month but was attacked by drones off the coast of Malta, setting the engine ablaze. They claim this was an unprovoked bombing of a civilian vessel and that Israel appears to be behind the attacks. This time, the FFC wrote in an Instagram post that, “Unarmed and nonviolent, ‘Madleen’ poses no threat. She sails in full accordance with international law. Any attack or interference will be a deliberate, unlawful assault on civilians.”
Gaza has been under an Israeli land, sea and air blockade since 2007. According to the Israeli government, the current blockade is aimed at pressuring Hamas to release the remaining hostages it took during the attack on Oct. 7, 2023 — 58 of whom remain in captivity, and 23 of whom are believed to be alive. Around 1,200 Israeli people were killed by Hamas-led forces that day. Israel has denied all allegations of genocide and maintained that any retaliation after October 7 was in self-defense. Since launching its offensive, Israel has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians.
Kleigh Carroll
Kleigh is a student at UC Berkeley studying Geography and Journalism. She hopes to integrate her skills in these fields in pursuit of a career in journalism. She is passionate about being outside, exploring, and writing in all of its forms.