The international activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said one of its vessels departed the Italian port of Catania on Sunday, bound for Gaza with humanitarian aid. A previous attempt was halted after a drone strike on another ship in the Mediterranean.
The volunteer crew, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, Irish actor Liam Cunningham, and a member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan, set sail aboard the Madleen, carrying what the group described as ‘limited but symbolic’ barrels of relief supplies.
The ship is reported to be 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.
Earlier in May, another FFC vessel, Conscience, was struck by two drones near Maltese waters. The group blamed Israel for the attack, though Israeli authorities have not responded to requests for comment.
“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,” Thunberg told reporters at a conference before the departure.
She added that “no matter how dangerous this mission is, it is nowhere near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the lives being genocided.”
FFC said the trip “is not charity. This is a non-violent, direct action to challenge Israel’s illegal siege and escalating war crimes.”
