 next sailing to Gaza.){kind=link}
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and actor Liam Cunningham will join the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s (FFC) next sailing to Gaza, attempting to break Israel’s months-long blockade. The “Madleen” ship is set to disembark from Catania, Sicily, on Sunday with humanitarian aid and several high-profile activists on board.
Rima Hassan, a European Member of Parliament, said the trip is a protest against Israel’s actions as much as an attempt to deliver aid to Gaza. “The first [goal] being of course to reject the blockade of humanitarian aid, the ongoing genocide, the impunity enjoyed by the State of Israel and to raise global international awareness,” she said.
The FFC’s mission comes after a previous attempt in May was aborted due to a drone attack on their vessel, which they blame on Israel. The blockade has severely restricted aid entry into Gaza, with the UN warning that the territory is at risk of famine. Thousands of Palestinians have rushed to aid distribution stations, resulting in chaos and casualties.
The World Health Organization has warned that about a quarter of Gaza’s population is in a “catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death.” The UN and humanitarian organizations are boycotting the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, accusing Israel of attempting to control aid distribution and further weaponize food and starvation.