Greta Thunberg Joins Gaza-Bound Aid Ship to Challenge Israeli Blockade
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on Sunday joined a group of international campaigners aboard a ship sailing from Italy to Gaza, in a mission to deliver aid and protest Israel’s "inhumane siege" of the Palestinian enclave.
The vessel, Madleen, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departed from the Sicilian port of Catania on Sunday afternoon.
The mission aims to break through Israel’s blockade and deliver aid to Gaza, where nearly 19 months of Israeli brutal war have left much of the territory in ruins and its population in urgent need of assistance.
“This mission is about humanity,” Thunberg said during an emotional press conference before departure.
“We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying,” she said in tears.
“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.”
Among the passengers aboard the Madleen are “Game of Thrones” actor Liam Cunningham and Rima Hassan, a French Member of the European Parliament of Palestinian descent.
Hassan has been barred from entering occupied Palestine due to her outspoken opposition to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
The voyage is expected to last seven days, assuming it is not intercepted.
Thunberg, known globally for her climate advocacy, had initially planned to join a previous Freedom Flotilla mission in May.
That earlier effort was cut short when another ship, the Conscience, was damaged in what the group said was a drone attack by Israel while sailing in international waters near Malta.
The activists says Israel is targeting humanitarian missions in violation of international law.
Israel launched a large-scale military campaign in Gaza that has killed nearly 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The ministry reports that the majority of those killed are women and children, though it does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The genocidal offensive has flattened entire neighborhoods, displaced most of the population, and triggered mounting international criticism.
Freedom Flotilla is part of a growing movement demanding an end to Israel’s “collective punishment” of Gaza’s civilians.
“We are breaking the siege of Gaza by sea, but that’s part of a broader strategy,” said activist Thiago Avila.
Avila pointed to the upcoming Global March to Gaza, a land-based initiative involving doctors, lawyers, and journalists, which plans to reach the Rafah crossing from Egypt in mid-June to demand Israel halt its assault and open the border.
