Greta Thunberg joins activists sailing from Italy to Gaza to break Israeli siege

A ship operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition on Sunday set off from Sicily to the Gaza Strip carrying "symbolic" aid to break the Israeli siege on the Palestinian enclave.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Franco-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan were among the 12-person crew of the Madleen, which is expected to take seven days to reach Gaza.

"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," the FFC said in a statement.

The barrels of relief were described by the organisers as "limited amounts, though symbolic".

“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 news conference in the port of Catania.

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Another Freedom Flotilla vessel, the Conscience, failed to continue its voyage in early May after being hit by two drones just outside Maltese waters. 

"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 genocised,” said Thunberg.

6 français sont à bord de la #FreedomFlotilla ✌️ pic.twitter.com/T3Xzn4R5bJ

— Rima Hassan (@RimaHas) June 2, 2025

"The Freedom Flotilla Coalition emphasises that this is a peaceful act of civil resistance," the group said. "All volunteers and crew aboard Madleen are trained in nonviolence. They are sailing unarmed, united by the shared belief that Palestinians deserve the same rights, freedom, and dignity as all people."

A number of American and Israeli commentators criticised Thunberg and the other activists, apparently making threats against their safety.

US Senator Lindsey Graham posted an article on the flotilla from Times of Israel and wrote on X: "Hope Greta and her friends can swim!"

Israeli-based international human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky described Thunberg as a "little Jihadi" and said it would be "so sad if something were to happen to her flotilla".

He later deleted the post.

The Palestinian health ministry said on Saturday that at least 4,149 people had been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, taking the war's overall toll to more than 54,418. 

After an 11-week total ban on the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza, Israel on 19 May allowed limited UN aid deliveries and a US-backed aid distribution scheme that has been rejected by the UN as discriminatory and unworkable. 

On Sunday, Israeli forces killed at least 32 people attempting to reach aid via the new scheme in Gaza, while wounding scores more.

According to eyewitnesses and local officials, Israeli troops opened fire directly on civilians gathered at two US-Israeli food distribution points in Rafah and central Gaza.

The health ministry accused Israel of using the new aid mechanism as a “trap for mass killings” and a tool for “the forced displacement of Gaza’s population”.

middleeasteye.net